At 85, Jimmie Webb is still mixing it up

CATAWBA TOWNSHIP - For decades, James “Jimmie” Webb has been as much a part of the local nightlife as the lake sunsets and squawking seagulls that soar over the beaches.

Webb, a popular bartender and bar owner, has been in the restaurant business for 57 years. Today, at age 85, he still tends bar part-time at The Crow’s Nest in Marblehead.

“I’m the oldest bartender in Ottawa County now,” he said.

And, quite possibly, the most loved.

Webb, who lives on Catawba, grew up in Mississippi and moved to Ohio to be near his mother’s family in 1958. He got his start in the business as a busboy for the Catawba Cliffs Beach Club, now the Catawba Island Club. Webb showed promise and initiative early on, and after only two weeks on the job, he was promoted to head bellhop, a position he kept for 10 years.

His popularity drew attention from many, including a Cleveland Plain Dealer executive who requested Webb whenever he came to town and visited the club.

“He always wanted me to wait on him. That was a lot of fun,” Webb said.

From there, Webb took a job as bar manager at Mon Ami Winery and Restaurant. About four years later, the opportunity arose to become part owner of the Gotcha Restaurant, which became Jimmie’s Gotcha.

Through his decades of tending bar, Webb befriended locals, entertained tourists, and met and served a few celebrities as well, including famous radio commentator Paul Harvey.

“He came up to stay for a week. He’d just watch television all the time,” Webb said.

After hearing about Webb from employees at the Catawba Island Club, actor Tom Selleck visited Mon Ami for the sole purpose of meeting Webb, but overbearing fans prevented a connection.

“He was in Detroit, and he came down to the Catawba Island Club, and they told him about me,” Webb said. “I was at Mon Ami, and he came there to visit me. But people wanted his autograph, so he walked right back out.”

Webb amassed a personal collection of dozens of drink recipes, but his most famous — and his favorite to make — is the “Jimmie’s Special,” an unusual concoction of ice cream, frangellico, dark crème de cacao and half and half.

“It was pretty popular. It’s still pretty popular,” Webb said. “They still ask for the Jimmie’s Special.”

Webb learned to mix drinks on the job before he ever stepped behind the bar.

“I learned from watching the men at the Beach Club. They would make a drink, and I’d ask them what goes in it,” Webb said. “When I worked at the club, people would go to Florida and would come back and tell me different drinks, and I’d write them down.”

About 13 years ago, a customer suggested he publish a book of his drink recipes. “Jimmie’s Special Recipes” is still available for sale at businesses around Port Clinton, including Mon Ami, Mary’s Blossom Shoppe, and Bassett’s Market.

“A lady was in the bar one day and said, ‘Why don’t you write a book?’” Webb said. “I gave her a list, and she took it to the printer, and he made a book up. I’ve sold probably 3,000 of them.”

With his love of bartending, Webb has no plans to retire anytime soon.

“I love it,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of fun and made a lot of friends.”

Contact Port Clinton News Herald correspondent Sheri Trusty at sheri.trusty@gmail.com or 419-639-0662.