Quite a few years ago, I remember stopping at Harry and the Natives, a kitschy restaurant located in Hobe Sound, Florida that prides itself on an eclectic Old Florida atmosphere and has been around, in one form or another, since 1941. I recall being really impressed with all the old Florida memorabilia on the outside patio. There were a lot of items from old Florida tourist attractions on display and funny signs plastered all over the walls. And yesterday, just for fun, since I was driving past it on the way back to Stuart, I decided to stop and check it out. And was very surprised to find it was nothing like I remember. The funny signs were still there, but not a single tacky item from Florida's past. I am sure I took photographs of this place all those years ago, and so, as soon as I return to Denver, I intend to go through my 50,000 boxes of photographs and see if the place really is so different now or if I am just losing my mind. Both are definite possibilities. In any case, I checked their website in hopes of learning something about the missing relics, with no success, but did find out that Harry and the Natives was about to go out of business back in October of 2024, having never recovered from the COVID pandemic. Just a few days after owner Harry MacArthur made the announcement about closing on a Facebook video, it received 400,000 views and massive support from the community, convincing Harry to keep the business going. It still seems like a very pleasant place, just not the one I remembered. Or possibly imagined.
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