by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
What do you get when you cross a seasoned restaurant owner with a veteran politician?
Two successful restaurants and the perfect type of ownership: hands-on combined with hands-off.
Beach Diner co-owners Barry Adeeb and State Rep. Stan Jordan couldn’t be much more different. Adeeb and his family have been in the restaurant/hotel business since 1950, when the family bought the Sea Turtle hotel in Atlantic Beach. Jordan is a near career politician — 16 years as a member of the Duval County School Board with four as chairman, and a member of the Florida House of Representatives since 2000 — who also owns Sterling Classics, a spray-in bedliner and truck accessory company he started in 1992 with his wife Shirley.
Together, the two have made Beach Diner one of the most popular restaurants day-in and day-out at the beach. Any given weekend morning, there are lines to get into both the Atlantic Beach and Ponte Vedra locations. Lunch is busy, too, and just last week Adeeb began serving dinner in Ponte Vedra. Without a single advertisement and relying solely on current customers and word of mouth, dinner has gotten off to a good start.
“It’s been good. I am happy with things,” said Adeeb, adding the restaurant did 40-50 dinners last Monday and was expecting 100 by Friday.
The Atlantic Beach location has been open for 11 years while the Ponte Vedra location just entered its third year. Adeeb likes the near exact 10-mile difference.
“It doesn’t cannibalize our sales,” said Adeeb, adding he doesn’t see the day when he’ll serve dinner in Atlantic Beach. “We do a huge amount of catering. About 90 percent of our catering is in Atlantic Beach. But, I never say never.”
While Adeeb spends a great deal of time running the two restaurants and overseeing the 50 or so employees, Jordan spends most of his time either in Tallahassee or running his company. That doesn’t mean Jordan doesn’t have a key role in Beach Diner.
“He’s chairman of the board,” said Adeeb of the two-person board. “I think I handed it to him in early January. We had a coin flip.
“He’s a born and bred entrepreneur.”
Jordan thinks just as highly of Adeeb and the way he runs the two restaurants.
“Barry is the master host,” said Jordan. “He’s a third-generation food and hospitality person. He’s just gifted and the product shows that.”
Still, Jordan said he does have his place in the business.
“My biggest contribution is on the business side. I would hope I make adequate, good business decisions. I think we’ve done that,” he said. “Where others are cutting back, we have expanded. In this economy, that’s good.”
Both Adeeb and Jordan are already looking at the future. They talk of a third Beach Diner location provided the other two remain steady.
And, Jordan talks of a political future. He’s term-limited and cannot run for his House seat again this year. However, Jordan hinted at a run for State Senate and declined interest in succeeding John Peyton as mayor.
Both agreed the future is bright as owners of a successful restaurant and in the political spectrum. Adeeb said if the right location for a third restaurant becomes available, he’ll give it serious consideration. Jordan isn’t sure what office he’ll seek next, but he intends to stay involved.
In the end, the biggest question at the end of the year may be: who’s going to win the coin flip and be the new chair of Beach Diner’s board of directors?