It may be the busiest week of the year, but patrons of two regular Middle Keys watering holes might find themselves doing a double-take in the new year after one of the biggest shakeups in Marathon’s unofficial town sport.
Beginning Jan. 9, customers will find all of the same faces they once knew as “the Overseas crew” – from kitchen staff to bartenders – behind the doors of Marathon Grill and Ale House, under the new ownership of former Herbie’s proprietors Pete and Shirley Demaras.
“For the most part, it’s going to operate as a sports bar, and it’ll be late night as well,” said Pete Demaras, who will retain the Ale House name after purchasing the business and leasing the restaurant’s space from former owners Simone Mullis and Michael Payne while adding “more of classic American cuisine.”
“We’re definitely going to change up the menu a bit, and eventually add breakfast, but we want to make it that hometown bar that people want to go to,” he added. “Mike and Simone have done a great job over there, changing out all the tables and booths – the place looks great.”
Working with the Demarases, bar operations will be left in the hands of former Overseas bar manager Andy Sharf, whom Pete called “the only one in town (he) would consider” to helm his operation after a 10-year friendship.
“(After we closed the deal), I told Andy, ‘We just did a thing.’ Without me having to say anything, he said, ‘I’m in. But can I bring my whole crew?’ I told him we wouldn’t have done it without him,” Pete said. “We’ve developed a great relationship over time, and that’s specifically because we have equal respect for what we do, and I love his family to death.”
“For the first five years, Michael and I never left the place,” said Mullis, who will now shift all of her focus to her 2017 purchase: Dockside Boot Key Harbor, where she plans to add more docks for visitors and expand an on-site store.
“When Dockside came along, that’s your baby, so you go to it,” she said. “As Dockside grew and grew, Ale House got less and less attention. I don’t know how long that could have continued without ownership in place. So to me, knowing Pete and Shirley and Andy, they seem to be very loyal people.
“I think it’s going to be an excellent transition for them, and they’re going to upgrade it back to better bosses,” she laughed. “And I get to only run two businesses.”
Both Mullis and Sharf confirmed that while some former Ale House staff had moved over to Dockside or found other opportunities, others planned to interview for continued employment at Ale House on New Year’s Day.
Overseas fallout
Beginning on Dec. 30, a barrage of text messages sent to general manager Ashley Cook announced the resignation of nearly every Overseas staff member.
The walk-out followed weeks of social media speculation on local Facebook pages of the bar’s impending closure, informally dubbed the “Marathon mutiny.” Cook refuted the closure in online replies.
As of the afternoon on New Year’s Eve, the bar remained empty, but a sign posted to social media and on the restaurant doors advertised open positions for cooks, bartenders and wait staff.
With some speaking to the Weekly on condition of anonymity, multiple recently-resigned Overseas employees chronicled months of alleged payroll issues, income-reporting discrepancies and unpaid service, supply and utility bills.
Several claimed that over the past year, it was not uncommon for at least one paycheck per period to “bounce,” or that employees were asked to delay cashing their paychecks, frequently needing to request replacements.
“We heard that a lot – ‘Don’t cash it until Monday,’” said server manager Erin Hamby, who added that the staff received paychecks due on Dec. 24 on the morning of Dec. 30 – one with the hand-written amount of “tree hundred sixty tree” dollars.
“My last straw was it happening again right before Christmas,” she said. “We all have families. I’m already basically living off tips, so if I pay my bills with tips, I needed this check to do Christmas. That didn’t happen.”
“We all love Overseas, and we’ve poured out so much love into it,” she concluded. “But we’re all still a family here, and we’re going to be okay.”
Sharf declined to comment on his Overseas exit, but told the Weekly he was thrilled to give Ale House a fresh start – complete with relocating his legendary community fundraisers for those in need.
“I hate to use the word ‘dream team,’ but bringing all my people over to Ale House with Pete making the menu – he’s just really good on the food side,” he said. “I think we’re going to do amazing things over there.”
The Weekly attempted to establish contact with Cook via phone, text and voicemail as well as two visits to Overseas on New Year’s Eve, but received no response before press time.
