Page 11

20192TB

Jenny confesses that she never would have made it without the locals. With only 1500 people living on Tybee year round, if you couldn’t get them in the door consistently, you were doomed for failure. Not so in this case: The Mitchell’s, Sheehans, special props to Dirty Dan for his guidance and humor, and so many others, not to mention the help of the same families coming to visit consistently year after year, kept Fannie’s doors open. Then the greatest thing happened. The County passed the sales tax referendum to rebuild the Tybee Pier and Pavilion!! Then it was announced that Savannah would get the Olympic Sailing and possible Olympic Volleyball for Tybee. EVERYTHING CHANGED! In March of 1998, Fannie’s was successful enough to build a second floor which is aptly named THE BIG DECK. In May 2005, the third floor was added. Through the years Fannie’s built a reputation for good food and good times. It also became the party spot and place to be. Through it all, Christy Alan (of the famous Christy Alan Band) has been there through the thick and the thin. In the beginning, it was Christy’s idea to open during the day and serve lunch. Christy would cook and one waitress would be out front. A best friend forever, Christy was the one that screamed, “Free drinks at Doc’s!” and hosed people down with water to get them to leave at two in the morning. It is hard to leave a rocking party and no one wanted to go. As Jenny says, “Christy Alan will always be a part of Fannie’s and a big reason for its success.” Jenny is big on community and has contributed a lot to a variety of causes and events on Tybee. Her favorite yearly event was the “Best Fannie on the Beach.” This event raised thousands of dollars for diabetes research and was the hit of the year. Fifteen to twenty of Tybee’s local men would dress up in their finest tear-away clothes to strip down to their skivvies and have money stuffed into their underwear! The dressing room contained two bottles of Cuervo and two bottles of Crown to get the men in the right frame of mind. The most memorable moment was when David Ring’s “Big Surprise” fell out of his leopard print women’s panties. His wife, Diane, didn’t miss a beat and stepped up and put him back together again, and David kept on shaking his money maker! LOL!! Now, that would have been something to bear witness to! Everyone hears various stories throughout their time here in Paradise about Fannie’s, and Jenny says everything you hear is true. Jenny has great fondness and memories of all of the families that continuously visit Fannie’s throughout the years. She remembers them all and loves seeing the youngsters she met long ago now visiting with families of their own. This also includes the staff, some of whom have been with her for many, many years, and she is delighted to see them grow. So here we are 25 years later… Jenny proclaims, “It’s been a fun ride and I have been blessed to meet so many fantastic people. There are so many people to thank that I don’t have enough room, but you know who you are and you will always be a part of Fannie’s and always near and dear to my heart.” Cheers to that and you can bet your Fannie there will be many more fun memories to be made in the future! Come help Fannie’s celebrate their 25th Anniversary, starting Friday, June 17. There will be lots of music and fun, with the finale on Tuesday, June 20th from noon til 9pm, featuring The Christy Alan Band, Randy “Hatman” Smith, and more. Fannie’s is located at 1613 Strand Ave. TYBEE BEACHCOMBER | JUNE 2017 9


20192TB
To see the actual publication please follow the link above