The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1951-06-22
A BOATS COOK
RISES TO TOP IN
CAFE BUSINESS
Tony Seamon's Success Hing
es Around His Hush Pup
pies Recipe
By AYCOCK BROWN


lenburg county farm and the top
job of Americas largest state res
taurant group, but Tony Seamon
has made such a trip during the
past 26 years. One of the original
directors of the North Carolina
Restaurant Association at it's or
ganization in 1947, Seamon, who
has helped bring the membership
of the group to more than 1,4OO
in four years, became president of
the group following the tragedy
which claimed the life of Avis M.
Single of Asheville within a mat
ter of hours after his election at
the annual convention in Asheville
recently.
Tony's career is a Tar Heel sue
cess story. In 1924 his address was
Davidson RID. Today in massive
scrap books always available to pa
irons of Sanitary Fish Market and
Restaurant while they are waiting
for a shore dinner one will see
letters and post cards that reached
Seamon through the U. S. Mails
which bore no address, merely the
name of the restaurant and some
times Just ''Tony" of North Caro-
lima. Actually, he is ]. L. Seamon,
the name "Tony" was given him
as gag by a companion in the
automobile which first brought
him to the Carteret coast, with a
group of Mecklenburghers coming
here to work with Coach Simmons,
the contractor who built the first
good roads in this central coast
area.
Coach Simmons, Charlotte con-
tractor, had a part in Tony's ca
reer. After a few years of road
and bridge construction work in
Carteret, Seamon saw possibilities
in the sportfishing business, but
he lacked capital to buy a party
boat. Simmons didn't lack capital
and when he learned that Tony
would like to become a sportsfish-
ing guide he loaned him $500 to
buy the Monnie M. There was no
note attached to the deal. Simmons
told Tony to repay the loan at his
convenience, and that was within a
few months because party boating
paid off for the Mecklenburg coun-
ty farm boy. Fishing parties kept
Tony booked solidly from early
Spring until late Autumn. If fish
ing was below par, the parties were
still happy and that was because
Tony not only served as captain of
the Monnie NJ, but also cook. From
the charter boats galley came fish
and potatoes &C m p a n e d by
French-fried corn bread that was
later to become famous as Tar Heel
Hushpuppies.
what you ought to do is start
a restaurant in Morehead City," his
fishing parties would often tell him
following meal aboard the Mon
ME M. while on trips to Cape Look
out, Fort Macon Channel, Shackle-
ford Breakwater or the Gulf
Stream. In 1888 Tony took them
seriously and did start a restaurant
on the waterfront and in Is years
it has become one of the most pub
licized seafood eating places in
America. The scrapb o k S will
prove this too, because Tony has
saved clippings, from all over the
world, and also communications
from persons including generals,
movie stars, and persons whose
names are front page news of the
natiOn-all of whom at one time or
another have eaten at the estab-
lshment which SeamOn, his asso-
ciate, Ted Garner, and his BROTH
er, Robert, have made outstanding.
AS head of the state association,
Tony Seamon has one objective and
that is for all North Carolina res
taurants to bee ONE f "a mou
throughout the nation for good
food, service and hospitality, and,
as he puts it, sour restaurants will
strive to become a number one
tourist attraction, for the ever in
creasing tourist travel coming to
our great State"