Thursday, August 10, 2000
Associated Press
PENSACOLA — A Navy pilot and his wife have bought Trader Jon's and plan to reopen the historic aviators' pub that closed in 1998 after longtime barkeeper Martin "Trader Jon" Weissman suffered a stroke. Lt. Matt Heckemeyer, a flight instructor who helps train navigators at Pensacola Naval Air Station, and wife Kerry purchased the bar Tuesday for $465,000 from the family of Weissman, who died in February at age 84.
"They're keeping it as Trader Jon's, and that's the greatest thing that could happen," said Weissman's widow, Jackii.
The Heckemeyers hope to have the tavern reopened by Labor Day but first must do an estimated $150,000 in repairs to meet building codes, including a new roof, wiring and bathrooms.
The couple, with partial financing from the Bank of Pensacola, outbid a group of Navy veterans for the bar filled with photographs, model planes, aircraft parts, flight suits, crash helmets and other memorabilia
Trader Jon's was the model for a tavern in the movie "An Officer and a Gentleman" and attracted war heroes, astronauts, politicians and celebrities such as England's Prince Andrew, Bob Hope, Elizabeth Taylor, John Wayne and Ernest Borgnine.
A state historic marker stands in front of the building, a former ship's chandlery and shoe repair shop that dates to 1898. It already was a bar by the time Weissman purchased it in the early 1950s. He renamed it Trader Jon's and began the aviation theme.
The purchase includes a connected building that houses Trader Jon's Blue Angels Museum dedicated to the Navy's Pensacola-based precision flying team whose members were among his most loyal customers.
Weissman was incapacitated by the stroke in October 1997. The bar and museum were closed and put up for sale the next year.
Fearful a new owner might use the buildings for other purposes, former Blue Angels leader Bob Stumpf, a retired Navy commander, and retired Marine Maj. Kent Bolin formed The Trader Jon's Preservation Squadron.
They raised money primarily from current and former naval aviators to purchase and preserve the bar. The group's latest bid of $300,000 was turned down and it has offered to return contributions.
"It wasn't a business for us," Stumpf said. "If the new management preserves the legacy of Trader and the aviation tradition in town, we will be very happy."
Matt Heckemeyer said they plan to do just that.
"I want it intact and untouched," he said. "I have fond memories of it from flight school, and I want my future aviator colleagues to enjoy it in the same way."