Twelve questions with Bay Street Blues co-owner Jessica Walden ahead of their Valentines Weekend/20th Anniversary celebration. Her mother Bonnie Walden has been running the show since day one. Jessica for the last 13 or so.
JB: Tell me how much blood, sweat and tears your mom has put into Bay Street Blues the last 20 years.
Jessica: It’s her heart and soul. She loves Bay Street Blues. It’s her family. Her whole life revolves around it. It’s where her friends base is. It’s her passion.
JB: That said, what’s the last 11 months been like for her personally?
Jessica: You know, it was crazy. Shutting down? It was a heart breaking night to put that sign on the door saying we were closed and we didn’t know when we’d re-open. But the amount of people who called us asking ‘When are you gonna be back? When are you gonna be back?’ And the support that we’ve had since we re-opened? It’s just been amazing.
JB: Do you get more tourists that come and visit your or locals?
Jessica: It’s a mixture. During the week, it’s our locals. Our industry. Lots of industry people from The Pink House, from Vic’s and from Ruth’s Chris. But during the weekends we see a lot more tourists.
JB: Have you seen the face of the tourist change? Is it a different crowd than it used to be 15 years ago?
Jessica: Kinda. We go through seasons. We’ve hosted groups from the Army. Then they all grow up and moved away, but they still come back every year to see us. And St Patrick’s Day. We have the same people who’ve been coming to see us every year for the last 15 to 20 years.
There’s always new faces, but then there’s the same ones that we love seeing.
JB: How tough has it been to not have a parade the for 2 years now?
Jessica: It is heartbreaking because it is such a big part of St Patrick’s Day. But hopefully we’ll be able to have a safe party and some St Patrick’s Day normalcy, even without the parade.
JB: What have you personally enjoyed the most about the last 20 years there?
Jessica: I wasn’t always part of the day to day. Early on it was once or twice a month. But the friendships. I’ve got friends…you know, Christy Russell who I met at Bay Street Blues 15 years ago. The friendships and the bonds you make with your customers. They have been life changing.
JB: Do you guys consider yourselves part of the face of “Old Savannah”?
Jessica: You know, I honestly never thought about that. But, I guess so, maybe.
JB: Did it bug you that Bayou Cafe closed after 30 years?
Jessica: It was heart wrenching. It definitely struck a chord. Angela and Vince are great people and they came in Friday night and I got up on the mic and asked everyone to go see them their last two days and I got choked up. To know that when people ask where can I go see another great band, that I can’t send them to the Bayou is mind blowing.
JB: Are you OK with what is happening in Savannah right now? There’s a sentiment that the little guy is getting pushed aside. How do you feel about that?
Jessica: If you look at the big picture, it kinda seems like that’s true. I mean, there’s nothing wrong with big business and beautiful hotels and restaurants. But you don’t want this city to lose its character. The mom and pop places that have been around for 20 years I think are part of what made Savannah great. If we lose them, I’m afraid we’ll lose part of our charm.
JB: Tell us about your plans for the weekend? Anything organized? Or is it just come on down and have fun with us?
Jessica: It’s just come have some fun with us. We have special edition t shirts that say ‘Cheers and Beers to 20 years’ on the back. We’re gonna have snacks and door prices and drink specials to say thank you to all of the customers that have kept us going the last 20 years.
JB: Do I recall correctly, the last time I was in there, Bonnie was passing around Jello shots?
Jessica: Yes, we are known for the jello shots. And about 4 or 5 times a year all of the money we collect from those shots goes to charity. That’s how we do a lot of our fundraising. Breast Cancer. St Jude’s. MS for Don, we love doing that.
That’s how we do a lot of the charity work we’ve done. Which we couldn’t do without our customers helping us.
JB: Could you put a guess how much you’ve given to charity over 15 years?
Jessica: Oh my goodness. This Christmas and last Christmas alone we did about $15,000 worth of toys. Then MS and St. Jude’s we did another $10,000. I don’t know, but I would guess maybe $20,000 a year? For the last couple of years. Easily a couple of hundred thousand dollars.
It’s a lot. But I mean, that’s why we are here. It makes it so much better to be able to help.
Bay Street Blues 17 East Bay Street Savannah, GA 31401 Wednesday-Friday 7pm-3am Saturday - 4pm-3am
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