Blood in the Water adds a few more Pensacola locations that weren’t in the first Walker Holmes novel, City of Grudges. The one that becomes the hideaway for Walker, Gravy, Alphonse and the Insider staff is The Elbow Room in Brownsville – Pensacola’s most distinctive and treasured tavern and pizza joint.
Former PNJ writer Troy Moon described the place as “where white collar and blue collar are muted and bathed in a deep, red, sultry glow. In fact, walk into The Elbow Room for the first time and you might think you walked into a French brothel decorated with velvet art.”
The place started in 1954 as a small cafe near the corner of Cervantes and Q streets when Maggie Flynn quit her job at Kelly Hardware and opened Maggie’s Cafe.
When her son Jim returned after being stationed in France, he wanted to open a bar similar to Le Gorille in Nice, which had a jungle theme illuminated with dark red lights. He convinced Maggie to convert the cafe to a pizza pub and tavern in 1963.
When his landlord hiked his rent in 1984, Jim bought the lot next door and constructed an exact replica of the original, though five feet wider. The beers were still ice cold and always poured into a frosty glass. The pizza and sandwiches – whose names paid homage to Star Trek – were delicious.
A 1985 News Journal article on neighborhood bars described the tavern as “the last refuge of the lounge lizard” and Jim as “the dapper red-vested gentleman behind the bar.” The writer, Chris Cooper, was fascinated with the area behind the bar: “a diorama of sorts, a maze of rocks and running water, and, of course, Spanish moss, all illuminated with colored lights.”
Jim, the jukebox and the “Godfather table” are in Blood in Water as is The Backseat Lounge, a strip club that existed next door until a mysterious fire destroyed it a decade or so ago. I even included my conversation with Jim about why the bar only has red lights: “Everybody looks better in red.”
In 2007, Lesa Touchette took control of The Elbow Room with her husband Phread. Lesa’s grandmother was a neighbor of Maggie Flynn and spent Wednesday nights at The Elbow Room. She and Phread stepped in when the bar became too much for Jim to handle.
The Touchettes got Jim to agree to put a movie projector in the back area, but only if they played “Star Trek” movies. The movies and video offerings have since expanded.
Later Jonathan Owens, who introduced me to the bar in 2004, became a business partner. The place has thrived in their hands.
Jim passed away in 2016. The Touchettes and Owens have kept their promise to operate the “westside’s gem” exactly as it has always been.
To buy Blood in the Water, visit Amazon.