Nick’s on the Bay Still Fresh After Fifty Years

Kurt LischkaMarch 27, 20202 min

Nick’s on the Bay Still Fresh After Fifty Years

Nick’s on the Bay (aka Nick’s in the Sticks) is famous for having the freshest seafood around.

They get all of their mullet, crab, shrimp, and flounder right out of the Choctawhatchee Bay and the gulf. The gulf provides an endless supply of fish right off the boat. The Nick family takes pride in serving the finest seafood – not worried about how pretty they can put crab on top of grouper, but ensuring that it’s the freshest and tastiest grouper you will ever have.

The story of Nick’s began in 1956 when Frank and Hattie Nick bought the bayfront property west of Freeport for just $8,500. The land where Nick’s on the Bay sits now was once a beloved and simple fish camp. Frank (Old Nick) and Hattie (Miss Hattie) rented boats for just a dollar a day and sold bait and beer to fishermen.

In 1963 the focus of the business changed and Nick’s on the Bay Seafood Restaurant was born. Sixteen years later, Frank Jr. and his wife, Bonnie, took over, and then their children, Frank III (Trey) and Jennifer, in 1998. Three generations of Nicks have claimed Nick’s on the Bay and no doubt their legacy will be carried on by a fourth generation by Aubree and Cade, Trey and Jennifer’s children.

The unassuming restaurant by the bay west of Freeport on highway 20 has Apalachicola oysters you can order by the half dozen or dozen, homemade seafood gumbo that is to die for, and some of the most delicious fried chicken you will ever taste. If gator tail is your thing, they fry it up nice and golden.

Nick’s has beer and wine at prices that are unheard of this day and age. Don’t miss joining the gang at Nick’s for a huge bonfire (a couple of stories tall) right on the bay every December with live music and dancing.

Head north on hwy 331 to Freeport, hang a left on hwy 20 through town for about 10 miles to Basin Bayou and you’ll see Nick’s on the left. It’s not as far as you think – just twenty minutes or so – come out and get the seafood you dream about.