FORT WALTON BEACH — In 1913, Woodrow Wilson was president, the U.S. Postal Service began offering parcel deliveries, Charlie Chaplin’s film career was beginning and a downtown eatery had just opened.
This year, Staff’s Restaurant celebrates 100 years of food and memories.
“It’s phenomenal,” said Cissy Wyninegar, who owns Staff’s with her sister, Lili Hill. “The last few years haven’t been easy, but this anniversary was just around the corner so we kept telling ourselves, ‘If we can just hang in there a little longer.’
Take a look at photos from Staff's. >>
“Now, we’ve made it.”
The walls of the seafood restaurant tell the story of the town that started as Camp Walton and the history of the Staff family, from the days when patrons arrived by boat from Pensacola or on dirt trails from Crestview.
The restaurant began as Staff’s Dining Room inside the Gulfview Hotel. But with the hotel’s popularity rising and a growing population at Eglin Field in the 1930s, the dining room was moved out front to a converted garage, where Staff’s still sits on U.S. Highway 98.
It’s grand opening was in 1931.
“They locked into something good here,” Hill said.
In the early years, Staff’s pioneered the art of fried and sautéed seafood, and served whole wheat breads, desserts and milk and butter from cows that grazed nearby.
“There was a time, I think in the 1940s, when there were even slot machines in the restaurant and there would be egg crates everywhere so the children could use them,” Wyninegar said.
In the 1950s, the restaurant was renovated to cater to a new way of dining — cafeteria style. Patrons had their choice of being seated in the dining room or eating in the cafeteria. That also was when air conditioning was installed.
Wyninegar said the cafeteria lasted for nearly 15 years until the restaurant once again switched to full-service.
It also has gone from serving three meals a day to opening at 5 p.m. for dinner. There also have been additions, such as existing kitchen.
But through all the years, the Staff family has put their heart into the restaurant and the people they serve.
“Everyone would come and everyone had their job,” Wyninegar said. “The reason this has lasted is because there has always been a commitment to people. There have been times when the money went straight from the cash register to the dish washer. We came up that way.
“We watched our dad working 24/7. That’s what we know and that’s how we work.”
For its centennial, the owners have planned a party in May with live music and special deals. They also hope to gather all past employees — which they say make up a large part of Fort Walton Beach’s population — to mark the occasion.
“We grew up in the family business. This has been our home,” Hill said. “We want to celebrate this.”
Today, a fifth generation of the Staff family works at the restaurant. Hill’s son works the kitchen while Wyninegar’s daughter has secured the surrounding property. They have also have started to promote Staff’s through social media.
“We’re just glad to be here right now,” Wyninegar said. “It’s been a tough five years with the economy, oil spill and hurricanes.
“We’re just hanging in there just the way we have for the past 100 years.”
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Angel McCurdy at 850-315-4432 or amccurdy@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @AngelMnwfdn.