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I don’t remember why my dad took me into Ye Olde Salt that day. It was just one time, probably a Saturday afternoon, I must have been about 7 or 8 years old. Maybe he needed a drink for some reason, because it wasn’t like him to go into a random dive tavern. He choose a spot for us at the far end of the bar, away from where the other customers were sitting. They were the regulars, as I found out later when I was old enough to go in by myself, and it seemed as if they hadn’t moved in ten years. And that’s how vivid my memory was of the place, that I remembered them, their faces as they looked at us, the sound of their voices, the smell of the cigarette smoke. Memories can play tricks on you though, and who knows what your mind adds, or alters, over the years. Anyway, now when I’m driving through town and I pass the Olde Salt(nobody ever calls it ”Ye” Olde Salt anymore), I have a clear picture in my mind of what it looks like, sounds like, and smells like inside, even though I haven’t been through the door in almost 30 years. I almost don’t notice it, to be honest.But this day was different, something new caught my eye. It was a For Sale sign wedged between the neon Budweiser light and the window. I actually drove around the block to make sure I wasn’t just imagining it. Sure enough, a For Sale sign. As I drove on toward the marina, I wondered how much they could be asking, and if the building was included, and the liquor license...I stopped myself: what was I thinking, that I would actually buy it?
I had been saving money to open a business, but had never really thought about owning a bar. I figured I’d open something related to sailing, which is the thing I know the most about. Maybe a sail making shop, or a rigging shop, or even just a nautical decor shop. But a bar? What did I know about running a bar? Did I really want the headaches and hassles of dealing with drunks, and well, assholes? What was I thinking?
Yet as I sat back on my boat to watch the sunset, a cold one in my hand, my thoughts raced, and ideas flowed like the beer I was drinking. I could make that place into something really special, a place where people would WANT to go for a change. I decided, as the sun disappeared beyond the horizon, that this is answer that I had been waiting for. This was my life changing moment. I just had no idea at that moment, how much my life really would change...
