_{This article first appeared in Safety Harbor Living, March 2023}

A hundred years ago and for several decades after, Safety Harbor was known for moonshine. As the population increased, several bars opened, notably after WWII. Around 1950, local bars started making news. From bar owners acting as bookies, to fights, murders, and even an incident when two Molotov cocktails were thrown at the front door of a tavern, our city wasn’t the after-hours destination it is today.  

In the 1970s, a man named John Wilson approached city leaders with plans to open a package store on his property on the north side of Main Street.  The property was adjacent to a church and for that, the city did not approve his request. Instead, a deal was made: Mr. Wilson traded his property for a lot owned by the city, several blocks west, on the south side of Main Street. The city planned to build a park on the property they acquired. Part of Wilson’s negotiation included that it would be named for him. Not only did he build his bar and package store, the gazebo in John Wilson Park is now one of Safety Harbor’s favorite spots.

With Time Comes Change

At 12 years old, John Zemzicki was already working as a caddy on a New Jersey golf course. At 16 he worked for the Sheraton doing room service. At 18, still in school, he started filling in at the hotel’s adjacent bar.  

“I got called to take down a tree on Easter Sunday and it was snowing. The branches snapped. I was blowing in my gloves in April, just freezing and that was it,” he says. His grandparents lived in Tarpon Springs and that was reason enough to head to Florida. Johnny again found work as a bartender. “I’ve always liked it,” he says, smiling. “I’m a people person.”

The Trotti family owned the former Wilson’s Bar and the Game Bar in St. Petersburg and eventually, Johnny started working for them. In 2013 he purchased 10% ownership in Trotti’s bars. “In 2017, I purchased 100% of it. We sold the bar in St. Petersburg.”

Johnny hosted events at Trotti’s, which he renamed Harbor Bar, to bring in more customers. “Some said I was either stealing business or too loud. Safety Harbor was small then. We needed to get people from outside of town to come in.” But in doing so, he would have to overcome Safety Harbor’s long-held reputation for attracting trouble.

Softball, Friendship, and Community

“It’s an amazing group of business owners right now,” Johnny says. “I credit a lot of it to the softball league.”

Johnny ran the first two tournaments, raising funds for Toys for Tots. He remembers around 2012, Craig Davide, the original owner of Nolan’s, organized a softball league and formed teams between the bars. The owners started getting together. “We could settle things on the softball field. That really helped with everything.”

Johnny believes much of downtown’s business success is due to Robert Brady Fisher, who owned Brady’s Backyard BBQ, a longtime Safety Harbor favorite. “He gave a good push on me and Aaron [Southern Fresh/Coastal Cantina]. We’d be here talking about the end of the world, how we were going to fix everything. Brady was a kind of godfather figure for us—adamant on keeping the town moving. Everything started to come through. Jeff from Barfly came in, Craig from Nolan’s, Louis Kinney from Whistle Stop—the business owners got along.”

Brady passed away in 2019 from brain cancer, and this past Christmas Eve, Louis died from a heart attack. By the time of Brady’s passing, Johnny was already recognized for organizing fundraisers benefiting local organizations, including the American Legion, the charity Breast Cancer Can Stick it, the Library Foundation and more. “We raised the funds for the softball fields. We put the scoreboards up, gave donations for the golf cart they purchased.” He held a fundraiser for Brady and the whole town showed up, including Robin Zander of Cheap Trick, who headlined. Last month, Harbor Bar hosted an all-day music event in support of Louis Kinney’s family.

“We get pretty lucky,” he says, referring to the musicians who have helped along the way. “Greg Billings, who I’ve known for twenty years. Jerico Turnpike’s McLean Mannix  was on the phone within an hour after Louis passed. I’ve had the Allman Brothers here, Dave Fairman the engineer for the Ramones, Justin Bateman, Michael Perry. Robbie Steinhardt from Kansas, he played here a few times. Foreigner comes in when they stay at the Spa. The first time, I called my dad: You know Foreigner, right? They’re in the bar.” 

Johnny kept employees working through the pandemic by creating and selling a bloody mary mix. He has since released it, plus his own brand of spicy pickles, and his Polish family vodka.

But it’s not just about serving alcohol. Johnny recently partnered with his sister to open Maggie’s Café, partly because he wanted a nearby place to get coffee and avocado toast. His parents live in the area too. He has two kids of his own so his plans often include families. “Every Sunday after softball everybody and their mothers got their kids outside,” he says. “Halloween’s fun. After kids finish trick or treating, I’ll order 40 pizzas and put them out because I know they have to go to school the next day. They’re hungry.”

The weekend before Easter, Harbor Bar will host a wiffle ball tournament and after, an Easter egg hunt. “It’s become a tradition. I started with about 30 eggs and this year I’m hiding about 1200.” And as always, the money raised will benefit a children’s charity.

“There will always be someone needing help,” Johnny says, “and we’ll be here in any way we can. I mean, that’s what a neighborhood bar is supposed to be.”