Oh, I'll miss the Shuckers deck.
I have spent a lot of time there eating small crustaceans. One time, I arrived early to meet friends and I was stuck in that awkward point in a bar where you just order a drink and try to sip it by yourself, pacing things so you don't get drunk before your friends show up, because that would be tacky.
A guy approached me and it was clear he was way ahead of me when it came to alcohol consumption, and not concerned much about etiquette. He was obnoxious, probably on vacation and willing to be an asshole out of town.
He was also middle-aged, fat and sweaty. I was not any of those things that evening, though I'm not pretending I was the best catch in town. I really was just out to meet up with some friends for drinks and peel-and-eats at Shuckers. I was not looking for a jerky drunk guy on vacation. I was not looking for anything.
(The deck collapsed last Thursday and about two dozen people were rushed to the hospital.)
I asked him to leave me alone. He called me a "stuck-up bitch." He said it in a quiet hiss that was slightly threatening. I figured no one heard it but me.
A few moments later a Shuckers phalanx of tatted up and really big guys descended on us and physically removed the jerk. I was stunned. I hadn't even complained. But they removed that creep for me. I didn't realize it, but my bartender, a young woman who was fit, hot and fast to fill my drink, was watching our exchange closely. When I looked up as they removed the jerk, she winked at me.
She had summoned every male employee at Shuckers when she saw a jerk being an ass to me. I don't know what they told him. Maybe they said he should take his assholedyness over to another bar across the street. You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here because you're bothering
I'll always love Shuckers for many reasons, the view of the Bay being just one., so I was sad when it collapsed into the water last Thursday. I've seen July 4th fireworks from that deck. The reflection over the Bay is stunning. I brought my entire family there for a drinks and seafood family fest before I got married. I was out on that deck with the people who are most important to me. It wasn't fancy food, but it was breezy and lovely, by the Bay. The water was more important than the food. That's the way Shuckers is. You don't go there for the latest foodie thing. You go there to be comfortable and enjoy the breeze.
The fact that Shuckers' bartenders vaulted over the bar to rescue patrons when the deck fell into the Bay doesn't surprise me. Those guys, and women, are used to doing what they have to for their patrons.
When they reopen, I'll be back.
-- Susannah Nesmith
