JOHN POWER

email: jpower9000@gmail.com

Born, raised and pushed through 10 years of Catholic school then Maury High School, Norfolk, VA. 3 sisters and a large extended Irish family, still mostly there. Tennis, swimmer, grass-cutter. Cheeseburgers, Regino’s Pizza and Mom’s Corned Beef and Cabbage. Allman Brothers. Simon and Garfunkel.

1970’s teenager. Delivery boy—flowers, candy cigarettes. Grass-cutter. Assistant to the asst. to the asst. tennis pro. Stones. Beach Boys. Fleetwood Mac. Bad hair. Beach. Lots of friends including Sam McGann.

Hampden-Sydney College. Hemingway. Western Civ. Delivery boy—Green Front Furniture. All around laborer—Rose Bower Vineyard. Late nights at the Truck Stop. Walker’s Diner. Rose Bower Claret. Learned to give a party. Summers tending bar—Princess Anne Country Club, Alexander’s on the Bay, Cavalier. Lifeguard—Va. Beach, 36th Street. Belvedere Café. Both Nick’s Restaurants—Sandbridge and Laskin. Dirt boy at construcrion site (1 week, learned how not to train or treat people). Hall and Oates. Pure Prairie League.

HSC Graduate, B.A., English 1979. Dishwasher—Milton’s Pizza--Williamsburg (1 night, pans won’t come clean). Banquet Room Service—Williamsburg Inn. Captain Thesolonius Judkins (learned how to train and treat people). Bartender—the Trellis, Williamsburg. Eyes opened wide to food and the business of serving it. Jimmy Buffet. Paul’s Deli.
 
Many, many, many restaurant jobs. Server, bartender, banquets. Ghent. Park City, Utah. Virginia Beach. Richmond. Escape attempts—Realtor, Womble Realty—Copywriter, Willis Wayside Furniture.
 
31 Years old. September 1988 weekend in Duck leads to bartending job at Barrier Island. Get to know all the locals. Love it. January 1989, opportunity in Va. Beach. Open Chick’s Oyster Bar on Lynnhaven River. 17 seats. Some nights do it all—cook, serve, shuck, tend bar, clean it all up. Get reacquainted with Sam.

Miss Duck too much. Sell Chick’s, March 1989. Friend of grandfather has space available in Duck’s Waterfront Shops. Call Sam. Partnership in Duck? Raise money. Shoestring. Dad chips in the most and when needed most. July 15, 1989—Blue Point opens.

Hard work. Lots of fun. Marriage—Lucy. Open Ocean Blvd. Kate’s born. Open Good Life. Jack’s born. Sadly marriage ends, but time was good and kids are spectacular. Sell Good Life. Sell Ocean Blvd. Open Duck’s Cottage Coffee. Remodel and enlarge Blue Point.

New business, 2008.  aquaVa--Bottled Artesian Water, Skippers Va. Sell Duck’s Cottage. Sinatra. Bublé. Dave Mathews. Captain Franks. Cook Corned Beef in the same pot Mom used. The kids hate it.