The legend of Squirt's

Growing up at my parents’ restaurant, I heard all sorts of legends about the place. Back when Squirt, a small, white haired man with white hair owned it, the whole place was filled with seedy characters rubbing elbows with high ranking officials- or maybe it was the high ranking officials who were the seedy ones. Always a popular place with the locals, people came as much for the food as for the show that Squirt would put on. You could hear him throwing plates and cussing people from the kitchen doors. You never sent a steak back to Squirt. He would march out of the kitchen to tell you “Get the Hell out of my building you *$&****!”. For some reason though, people still came. I think it had something to do with the fact that the bookies hung out, taking illegal bets in the back room. Squirt’s was a place in which people came to see and also to be seen. A lot of eyes were closed to a great number of things during the years that Squirt ran the restaurant.
Built on the weekends by a group of Valdosta royalty, including an electrician and a contractor who shall remain nameless, the building is an enigma unto itself. Made out of materials scavenged from other jobs and put together under the influence of much alcohol, the building definitely has what one might call “character.” Walls finished with half wood paneling and half sisal fibers, carpets covering the dining room floors, and booths as diverse as the places they were salvaged from are just some of the finishing touches Squirt and his crew placed on the building. A casual observer might think that dimming the lights are for dining ambiance, but it began as a way to hide the cosmetic flaws from the customers.
Squirt’s, as I’ve already said, was a Valdosta hub for illegal gambling. Also at this time, other places in Valdosta such as The Athleticman’s club were also running illegal gambling sites. Squirt’s was the only one though with an air strip in the back yard. Back when it was built in the early 80’s, Squirt’s was practically alone out in the wilds of Lowndes County. The only other restaurants near it were Ma and Pop’s and Violinists’ Lawn. There were lots of pine trees and no questions asked. In the lot behind Squirt’s, his friend Sammy had a body shop. Sammy also had kept up the air strip and had a large, covered area perfect for hiding small planes. Periodically, planes would land laden with illegal slot machines which would be hurriedly carried into Squirt’s. Besides having a windowless room in the back of the building that had its own separate exit, the main building had no windows either, making it the perfect place for Valdosta’s elite to hide out and ‘play’. In case you haven’t figured it out, I need to mention the mob ties that were always known about but never mentioned. I do have a few phone numbers that I’m supposed to call if I’m ever in trouble…
In 1986, after working for Squirt for 6 years, my mother decided that she and my father would buy Squirt’s and turn it around. After a few years of turning bookies away, receiving death threats for not taking bribes and keeping up Squirt’s legacy, my parents were able to turn the legend of Squirt’s around. In the past 23 years, my parents have been able to keep Squirt’s Steakhouse a thriving business that caters to families rather than mobsters.