From Alabama comes the story of two restaurant-regulars chowing down on a 54-year-old promise from their favorite oyster bar.
Jim and Jimmy Rush always wondered whether the sign behind the bar at Wintzell’s Oyster House in Mobile was “for real.” It promised a night of free oysters, as many as could be eaten, for any man 80 years of age accompanied by his father.
Hung by Wintzell’s eponymous original owner, a man fond of quirky and humorous signage, Jim and his son Jimmy made a pact to take the restaurant up on their offer, even if it meant waiting 54 years.
“We kept asking, ‘Was this sign for real?’ and they said yes,” Jimmy Rush, 80, told CBC News “As It Happens” host, Nil Köksal. “We said, ‘Has anybody ever done it?’ And they said no.”
The Rushs ate at Wintzell’s frequently, particularly in the days following Mardi Gras festivities, and they soon became as much a part of the furniture as the sign that always tickled their curiosity.
The years went by—the OPEC embargo, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the advent of the internet; the Great Financial Crisis; and every so often the Rushs would call the restaurant and double check if the deal was still valid.
Current owner Clay Omainsky said that Mr. Wintzell lived at a time when the only way an 80-year-old man could dine accompanied by his father was if he brought his ashes in an urn and slapped it down on the bar next to him.
But perhaps due to a diet rich in seafood, which Jim Sr. credits for his long life, he was able to walk into Wintzell’s last month, arm in arm with Jim Jr., sit down with over a dozen friends and family, and finally call in that long promised meal.
“Most people read that sign behind the bar and laugh,” read a February Facebook post on Wintzell’s Oyster House’s page. “But tonight, Jimmy Rush walked in on his 80th Birthday with his father, James Rush, 99, right beside him, and turned one of Wintzell’s rarest traditions into a real-life milestone.”
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“The Rush family has been part of this place for years, and they didn’t come alone. A full room of friends, shared memories—and yes, oysters on the house, true to our founder’s promise.”
The Rushs have already been back—oysters are on the house until Jimmy turns 81, but Jim has another son who will turn 80 next year, so he’s digging in his heels until that second year of free oysters.
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“I’ve only been sick twice in my life, once when I was five and once when I was 97,” said Jim, who will turn 100 this July. “I don’t see, but I hear fairly well, and that’s about it—and I don’t take any medications at all.”
When Omainsky heard that the clan is looking to be back in 2027, he told CBC that he’s looking forward to it almost as much as the Jims will be.
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