For more than 75 years, John Lawrence Tunnell has been a fixture and pillar of strength at the iconic Sanitary Fish Market and Restaurant on the downtown waterfront in Morehead City, N.C.
John would warmly welcome customers as they walked through the door. He would visit tables and strike up a conversation with diners. As people exited, John would thank them for eating at the Sanitary. He would tell them how much he looked forward to their next visit to the restaurant.
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It’s a fact, John Tunnell’s friendly smile, twinkling eyes and comforting and gentle voice has left an indelible impression on tens of thousands of people…maybe hundreds of thousands…but it seems like a million.
In a way, he’s a lot like Santa Claus. The comparison is not an overstatement.
Like jolly old St. Nick, John Tunnell has the uncanny ability to remember people’s names and faces, where they came from, who they’re kin to…and why they deserve a place on the “Nice” list.
Indeed, John Tunnell has a mystical aura, with a cuddly teddy bear personality. People of all ages are drawn to his magnetic personality…and want to give him a hug around the neck.
Over time, John Tunnell came to be widely known as Morehead City’s magical “Memory Man.” He has advanced to the age of 92, yet he continues to miraculously keep his “forgetory” at bay.
“Once you met John, a thread of friendship” was instantly created, wrote Kenneth W. Humphrey, a Morehead City native. “You were his friend, and he was always glad to see you again.”
Author Ken Humphrey (left) and John Tunnell
Humphrey is the author of a John Tunnell biography, published in 2015. Its abbreviated title is: “John Tunnell: ‘The Memory Man.’” The book was created after a series of interviews at the Sanitary, which Humphrey called “Tuesdays with Tunnell.”
“Did he tell you we always met at Table 82?” John Tunnell interjected.
John Tunnell was 15 years old when he started working at the Sanitary in 1945, earning 30 cents an hour as a cook. He worked his way up to become restaurant manager. He stayed, he stayed and he stayed.
John never retired, he just kept on ticking, reigning supreme as the Sanitary’s incomparable maître d’.
Nowadays, John says it’s too hard on his legs to pull a regular shift, so he’s on an extended leave of absence. Restaurant patrons rest assured, however, knowing that John Tunnell is there at the Sanitary every single day and night in spirit.
You can immediately sense the man’s presence as you enter the restaurant. Before or after your meal, browse the Sanitary’s “Walls of Fame” where John Tunnell’s influence and contributions jump to life from the photographs, news clippings, honors and awards that are on display.
It’s a museum-quality
collection. The artifacts and historical memorabilia are priceless.
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John Tunnell remembers the original owners – Vernon Jackson “Ted” Garner Sr. and Jesse Lee “Tony” Seamon Sr. – with great fondness.
“No finer two men ever walked in shoe leather,” he stated.
John loves to tell the story about how, during the mid-1930s, Ted and Tony got to know each other when they were working at the Morehead City port, loading scrap iron onto ships. Their friendship led to a joint business venture.
Here’s how it came to be: Ted Garner and his brother-in-law Roland Barbour started up a small fish market on the Morehead City waterfront. Tony Seamon liked to fish, and he had a small boat.
Ted took on the role of “drumming up” fishing parties. He’d load up Tony’s boat with six to eight people, ice and bait. Then, Tony would take the anglers out to fish in the Gulf Stream.
“The two partners became affectionately known by Morehead City’s townspeople as Capt. Ted and Capt Tony,” John Tunnell said.
“During those outings, Capt. Tony would clean and cook what the anglers caught right on the boat.”
The natural evolution was a “land-based restaurant.” Indeed, local people urged Capt. Ted and Capt. Tony to open a seafood place on shore, “so they could enjoy a fish dinner without having to spend a day out fishing themselves.”
So, on Saturday, Feb 10, 1938, Capt. Ted and Capt. Tony opened the first restaurant on the Morehead City waterfront. It was a small place with a seating capacity of 20. There were 12 stools at the counter and two four-top tables.
They had a waiting line on the first day. They had purchased a mess of mullet and bluefish from Charley Tolson, who had a fish house close by on the waterfront.
That Saturday night, they “sold flat clean out” of fish. They had advertised being open the next day (Sunday), but they had no food, John Tunnell said. Clearly, “they were in a scrape.”
Capt. Ted and Capt. Tony were frantic. They managed to raise Charley Tolson and told him they needed another 100 pounds of fish for Sunday.
Tolson coached them: “I know you boys are new at this, but you need to plan ahead. My fish house is closed on Sunday.” He explained that he’d normally be in church…but this was the “one and only time he’d come down and open up.”
“From now on, get enough fish on Friday to last the weekend,” Tolson instructed them.
The new restaurant wasn’t pretty. Capt. Ted and Capt. Tony rented a rundown building from Charles S. Wallace for $5.50 per week. It was kind of a glorified shack.
Capt. Tony once quipped that their building “looked like an oversized outhouse set out over the water.”
He was just joking, John Tunnell said. Most fish markets at that time had a reputation of being rather nasty. Capt. Ted and Capt. Tony were adamant, however, that their place would be so clean that people would feel safe to bring their families.
So, Capt. Ted and Capt. Tony decided on the Sanitary Fish Market name.
“Earle was pretty nice. He told them what they had to do. He said that since they were serving good food, they deserved to stay in business.” Hubbard said that he and Melvin would be back in a month.
The two owners quickly complied with the list of requirements. When the time came for the reinspection, Hubbard was pleased with what he saw, and Melvin returned to his home in Raleigh with a box of fresh Carteret County seafood.
John Tunnell continued: “In 1939, when Capt. Ted and Capt. Tony received a piece of paper from the State Board of Health saying that the Sanitary was a “Certified Restaurant,” Capt. Tony went up on the roof, paint brush in hand, and inserted the word ‘Restaurant’ on the Sanitary Fish Market sign.
That was how the Sanitary Fish Market and Restaurant came to be.”
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