by Laura Kepner

There was once a house at 518 Second Street North, surrounded by native plants and busy, clucking hens who were likely shaded by a massive, dying oak tree. The house no longer exists; the land is now the parking lot adjacent to Marker 39.  But the tree is still there. It was saved—about 100 years ago—by an arborist named James Mock.

According to their descendants, James had been looking for work and a room to rent. Locals suggested he speak to Jennie, a young widow. Late one evening, James approached Jennie’s house and knocked on the door. When she opened it, it was her gun that met his gaze. “Who are you and what do you want?” she demanded. James explained that he’d been told she might have a room to rent. Jennie replied that no man would ever sleep in her home who wasn’t her husband. So, James proposed.

Jennie was a resilient woman—a Seminole, raised in Chiefland. She faced head-on the rugged requirements of the times. James found work with the City of Safety Harbor, but not as an arborist. However, he did save that tree by pouring concrete into a hole at its base, which is still evident today.

Sunday chicken dinners at the Mocks’ became a tradition and their home was always full. When their daughter Grace and her husband Ola built their own home across from the elementary school, the custom continued, as did a welcoming table. Grace and Ola’s daughter Gracine Reed remembers being a small child and spending Sundays with her grandmother, listening to stories and cutting up two chickens for the evening meal.

“When I was a child, Safety Harbor was never mentioned on the news,” Gracine says. “We weren’t even on a map. My dad came from a family of farmers. I’m sure when he chose the lot, he wanted to get away from the farm life.” Gracine would walk back and forth from her home to her grandmother’s house. “There really weren’t a lot of kids my age at the time. There wasn’t much to do.”

“Same,” laughs her son, Aaron Stewart, who was also raised in Safety Harbor. “It wasn’t the most fun town when I was growing up. We found our fun—swimming in the bay and fishing at the pier. We had our favorite swimming holes.” He spent time with his older cousins, hanging out at a natural spring, now inaccessible. He wasn’t supposed to go to the pond near the current Rigsby Center. Gracine shakes her head. “There was an alligator in there.”

Aaron stayed local and worked in corporate restaurant management. After retirement, Gracine considered opening a stand, selling chicken. “I was going to call it Grandma’s Legs,” she says. Around that time Southern food was trending on travel and cooking shows. Aaron and Gracine bantered about opening a restaurant. Aaron looked at an available location in Safety Harbor. It was perfect except the kitchen was too small. He considered other places but kept returning to 122 3^rd Avenue N. Finally, he signed a lease.

“We expected chicken to be a small part of the business,” he says. “We didn’t expect to be the fried chicken place, so we had one cast iron skillet. That had to change.”

Aaron was also having problems getting the chicken recipe right. “Cooks, chefs, we like to put our own stamp on things,” he says. “I was adding herbs and different spices. My mom came in and she had her bandana on, ready, and she looks and says, that’s not my recipe. Change it. We went back to the family recipe and it’s been the same for ten years. “

The story of the Mocks, the Crawfords, and Southern Fresh are part of what makes Safety Harbor special.  “We took the family recipes and went on our own in a more contemporary way to appeal to everybody. Let’s face it, you can’t eat fried chicken every day,” Aaron says. “If you look at our menu, you’ll see we have redfish and pork and meatloaf. It’s not all Southern.”

The history continues to flourish. Last month, Southern Fresh closed the street and celebrated its first ten years in business. No matter the decade, though, everyone who lives here finds traditions, even if they aren’t the third or fourth generation.

Originally published in the October 2022 issue of Safety Harbor Living, Best Version Media