Island TV brings you ‘A history of the Temp’
Du Pont, Crowninshield, Bush. These are just a few of the many notable names that have walked the streets of Boca Grande throughout the years.
To honor and preserve the rich history of the island, Rick Montgomery of Island TV for Boca Grande has produced a series called “Island Icons.” Thanks to the efforts of Jim Blaha, the Boca Grande Historical Society, Jim and Karen Grace, future generations will be able to have access to the important history of the island.
“The History of the Temptation,” which is currently available on Island TV is a captivating episode of the series. Beautifully narrated by Jim Grace, the show walks the audience through the restaurant, pointing out the rich history contained within the walls of the iconic restaurant.
“My wife Karen and I owned the Temptation from 1990 to 2014,” began Jim. “It was a wonderful time of our lives as it was a great business to have, but we’re here today to talk a little bit about the history of the Temptation, the building and the murals that adorn the walls of the main dining room.”
Jim tells the story of a local barber, Homer Addison, and how he had the idea to build what would eventually become the Temptation. “The Temptation building was started in around 1939,” explained Jim. “He had the idea that if he could build the building and put a bar in, that he would get the bulk of the business. If a fellow could come and get his hair cut and get a drink, why not come here?”
But along came World War II and Homer was called off to the service. “He (Addison) spent a lot of his time in the service stationed in California where his favorite place to go was a nightclub called the Temptation.”
And that is how the Temptation got its name.
An intriguing part of the episode is the story of the mural. It all came about because of the friendship of Homer Addison and a couple on the island by the name of George and Dulcinea Ophelia Payne DuPont Weymouth, known to her friends as “DO.”
DO and her husband George enjoyed dining at the Temptation but were dismayed that their friends did not share their love of the local spot. “A lot of their friends wouldn’t come here because it was known as a local place,” explained Jim. “So DO as she was well known, decided to help Homer by doing something with the walls in the main dining room of the Temptation. She was an artist so she said, ‘I’ll paint a mural depicting my friends and things on the island like the beach, the golf course, and then we’ll see if my friends will come.’”
DO would attend parties, telling her friends that she had painted their portrait, but they would have to go to the Temptation and look at the walls. “They started to come, which improved the success of the Temptation, and it became the place to go on the island, as it remains today.”
The mural at the Temptation has been carefully preserved through the years, and one can still see DO’s original paintings on the walls and find paintings of Mr. Sharp, who was a DuPont, Mr. Morton, Mrs. Pierpont, all friends of DO, as well as the lighthouse, sea grapes, tarpon fishing and even Sam Joyner can be seen fishing.
Because of flooding and the normal wear and tear, local artist, the late Patti Middleton, was brought in to refresh the painting. What you see on the walls of the Temptation has been preserved since the day Mrs. DuPont-Weymouth first put her brush to the walls, all to coax her friends to the Temptation.
Jim’s next stop is the bar, which is the last old Florida bar on the island. “It’s a popular place not only the local fishermen but the tourists that come because very few real bars are left around the country these days.”
The most compelling part of the show was the history of the Caribbean Room. “It got its name from John Montgomery, who worked here for many years. John and his wife, Jean Montgomery ran the dining rooms of the Temptation and did all the cooking. Their family lived upstairs, so they are a very integral part of the business.”
“The reason that it was named the Caribbean Room was that the people of color that were on the island lived in an area down at the South end of the island. The houses down there were very colorful, so he thought that since this is the only dining room that they could eat in on the island pre-civil rights, it would be appropriate to name it the Caribbean Room, as well as the fact that many of them were of Caribbean descent. So that’s how it got its name.”
In the early 1990s, the Caribbean Room was reopened and is available to all patrons.
As Jim ends the trip down memory lane, one feels fortunate to have people like Jim and Karen Grace who are willing to share their stories.
“All of us who have owned the Temptation, and there have only been four owners in the 70 plus years of its existence, have felt that we were just caretakers of the Temptation, not owners, said Jim as he closed the episode. The owners are you, the customers, the people who come here and enjoy it, who feel like when they’re here, they’re home.”
