Ask a group of Orange Beach regulars when Tacky Jacks opened and you may get two answers. Even the people who run the place are not entirely sure whether it was 1979 or 1980, and there are no official records to settle it, because Orange Beach was not yet an incorporated city when the first version of the business opened its doors on Cotton Bayou.
What is certain is that the waterfront restaurant and bar has grown from a bait shop into one of the best-known names on the Alabama coast, with three locations in Orange Beach, Gulf Shores and Fort Morgan. In a 2023 interview, longtime marketing manager Susan Sizemore walked through the history, the storms and the community ties that have kept it going for more than four decades.
From Bait Shop to Beach Institution
The original owner was Jack Hodges, and the business began as a small bait and tackle shop before a little bar was added. The “Jack” in the name came from him. Local lore holds that his wife came up with the “Tacky” part, though Sizemore said no one knows for sure whether that story is true. The restaurant marked its 40th anniversary in 2020.
In 1987, George Skipper bought the building on Cotton Bayou, just off Marina Road. The Skipper family has guided Tacky Jacks ever since. “We’ve gone up, we’ve grown out, and we just get better,” said Sizemore, who has been marketing manager since 2008.
Orange Beach itself changed dramatically over those years. The community incorporated as a city in 1984, and the fishing village of the 1970s has since become one of the busiest resort destinations on the Gulf Coast, with high-rise condominiums, marinas and a year-round population that has grown steadily. Cotton Bayou, a protected inlet near Perdido Pass, has been part of that transformation from the start.
Three Locations, All on the Water
The Orange Beach restaurant is the original. In 2005, Tacky Jacks opened a second location on Fort Morgan Road in the building that once housed the Oar House and the Happy Hooker, just down the road from historic Fort Morgan. In 2011, a third location opened in Gulf Shores on the Intracoastal Waterway.
“All of our restaurants are on the water, with casual dining inside and out, and are easily accessible by boat,” Sizemore said. The menu is the same at each spot, but each building has its own character. “You can watch the sunrise at our Orange Beach restaurant, and watching the sunset at the Ft. Morgan location is an experience not to be missed,” she said.
The Fort Morgan location sits on the long peninsula that stretches west from Gulf Shores toward the mouth of Mobile Bay. At its tip stands Fort Morgan, the brick masonry fort completed in the 1830s that played a central role in the 1864 Battle of Mobile Bay. The peninsula remains one of the quieter corners of Baldwin County’s coast, which helps explain the appeal of an unhurried sunset dinner there.
As of 2023, Tacky Jacks served breakfast, lunch and dinner every day, closing only on Thanksgiving and Christmas, and welcomed boaters all day for a drink with friends.
Oil Spill, Hurricanes and a Presidential Visit
The business has weathered its share of trouble. The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill did not damage the building, but it closed Cotton Bayou, cutting off boat traffic and many of the tourists who kept the coast busy. “The BP Oil Spill didn’t hurt our structure, but Cotton Bayou was closed, so there went our boat traffic and a lot of tourists,” Sizemore said.
Celebrities came to support the recovery. Kenny Chesney held a free concert at the Flora-Bama, Jimmy Buffett performed on the beach in Gulf Shores, and visitors gradually returned. President Barack Obama also stopped at Tacky Jacks in Orange Beach during that period, giving staff just 15 minutes’ notice. According to Sizemore, he stayed for at least an hour and a half, talked with guests and ordered several items from the menu, including a “virgin” Bushwacker.
The Bushwacker, the frozen blend of rum, coffee liqueur, cream of coconut and chocolate that traces its roots to the Caribbean, has become the unofficial cocktail of the northern Gulf Coast, and Tacky Jacks has been recognized with a Nappie Award for Best Bushwacker on the Beach.
Sizemore said the COVID-19 pandemic did not hit as hard as Hurricane Sally did. The storm, which made landfall near Gulf Shores in September 2020, took out the downstairs private party room at the Orange Beach location, destroyed decking and cleaned out the gift shop. “It took a few months, but they survived and built back better,” she said. “After 43 years, we have very loyal locals and visitors.”
A near-disaster came earlier. In March 2017, staff arriving one morning at the Orange Beach restaurant found the floor hot and smoldering. Thanks to a quick response by the Orange Beach Fire Department, the building was saved.
Music, Karaoke and Crawfish
Music lineups are posted on the restaurants’ Facebook pages and mostly feature local bands. As of 2023, karaoke was a Thursday and Saturday night staple at Fort Morgan, and Wednesday was open mic night in Gulf Shores. The restaurants host some private parties, though not many during the busy summer months.
“Business is not as seasonal as it used to be,” Sizemore said. “It may slow down a bit during winter, but it is wide open from the second week in March until the middle of August. There is more music after spring breaks start.”
New Year’s Eve brings a big party in Gulf Shores featuring a Bushwacker Drop at 8 p.m. “It’s packed, and reservations are encouraged,” Sizemore said. The party wraps up at 9 p.m. so guests can head out to fireworks shows.
In crawfish season, Tacky Jacks serves all-you-can-eat crawfish beginning at 11 a.m. until it runs out, usually on Saturdays in Gulf Shores and Sundays in Orange Beach. The restaurant has collected a long list of honors, including:
- A spot for its Farmers Omelet on the state’s “100 Dishes to Eat in Alabama” list
- The Nappie Award for Best Bushwacker on the Beach
- “Best Crawfish” in the Best of Baldwin awards
- Sunny 105.7 People’s Choice Awards for “Locals Favorite Hangout” 12 years in a row, “Best View of the Island” for 12 years and “Best Happy Hour” for ten years
- Recognition as one of the “11 Awesome Kid-Friendly Restaurants in Alabama”
Thanking First Responders and Veterans
The 2017 fire left a lasting mark. Since then, Tacky Jacks has held a First Responders Week, inviting every local firefighter, police officer and lifeguard to eat free Monday through Friday. In 2023, nearly 500 invitations went out.
The restaurants are also committed to helping veterans. Donations to their veterans programs are matched, and Tacky Jacks has purchased Action Track Chairs and beach wheelchairs for veterans. Working with Beach n Buggies, a local company that builds beach wheelchairs, Tacky Jacks had a chair made that veterans can rent at no charge.
Tacky Jacks also helps sponsor Operation Reconnect, a veterans program run by Ryan Charrier that raises money by raffling a new vehicle and uses the proceeds to give deployed service members and their families an all-expenses-paid week at the beach. In 2022, more than 200 military families took part. Tacky Jacks sells raffle tickets and donates funds to the effort.
“We want to be good corporate citizens,” Sizemore said. The restaurants work with Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Tourism on sports and events, as well as with local chambers of commerce and schools, supporting academic and athletic programs.
Remembering Buddy Skipper
Owner George “Buddy” Skipper died in December 2021. At his celebration of life, the family presented the Orange Beach Fire Department with three infrared thermal imaging cameras in his memory and in appreciation of the firefighters who saved his building in 2017.
Skipper was recognized for his leadership and was named State Retailer of the Year in 2016. His family remains closely involved in running the business and in its commitment to the community.
The restaurants also emphasize conservation, using washable cups, plates and utensils and eco-friendly to-go boxes. Tacky Jacks participates in the region’s oyster shell recycling program, which returns used shells to the water to help build new oyster reefs.
Life at the Beach
Sizemore has seen the coast change firsthand. She began visiting in 1975, fell in love with the area and moved there permanently in 1999.
“Growth, of course, but this is the greatest place to live; everyone is welcome and accepted,” she said. “I believe in this area. No one is born here, and living here is easy and fun.”
For visitors planning a stop, the three locations offer different experiences: the original on Cotton Bayou in Orange Beach, the Intracoastal Waterway spot in Gulf Shores and the sunset-facing restaurant on Fort Morgan Road. Hours, music schedules and seasonal events can change, so it is a good idea to check the restaurants’ website or Facebook pages before heading out by car or by boat.