R Bar & Grille: All-You-Can Eat Snowcrabs Four Times a Week

You've got to like a restaurant whose motto is "Keeping Treasure Island Crabby Since 1995."

Not only does the slogan show the longevity of R Bar and Grille, a Treasure Island institution, but it also is humorous – a head turner.

Bob and Lucy Hughes are the new owners of the R Bar and Grille, at 245 108th Ave., and they like to tell folks that their place has that Old Florida charm that locals and visitors find so appealing.

R Bar offers a Snowcrab special Monday-Thursday, and a cook-your-catch special for anglers who want to bring in their catch. It also now boasts its own line of craft beers.

The Pinellas Beaches Patch chatted with Bob Hughes about the R Bar and his experiences running a small business in the heart of Treasure Island.

Patch: How has Treasure Island and the R Bar changed in the last 18 years? 
Bob Hughes: The R Bar has not changed much in the last 18 years but a year ago on Jan. 23 I bought the place and cleaned it up and made subtle changes for the better. Treasure Island is trying to keep its quaint small town atmosphere, and I am trying to attract more of the local people from around the area. 

Patch: Tell us about the Old Florida charm of your place.
Bob Hughes: The old Florida charm is the old building, which was one of the first A&W Root Beer restaurants and one of the first buildings built near the beach. Our outside walls have murals handpainted of Florida Tropical Paradise and some of the inside walls match the outside wall paintings. The tables are old and handpainted to kind of match the paintings on the inside walls. 

Patch: What are some R Bar specials?
Bob Hughes: We serve one of the best breakfast on the beach, starting at 8 a.m. every day and very affordable, too! Our main specialty is our Large "All You Can Eat Crab Legs," normally on Tuesday and Thursday nights but we now run this Special on Mondays and Wednesdays, too. 

Our other All you can eat specials are: Mondays, Crab Legs, Peel & Eat Shrimp and Fried Chicken. Tuesdays, Crab Legs. Wednesdays, Crab Legs & BBQ Ribs. Thursdays, Crab Legs & BBQ Ribs. Fridays and Saturdays, Prime Rib and Catfish. Sundays, Fried Chicken.

Patch: Tell us about your new brew pub and the beers you make.
Bob Hughes: We always keep three craft beers on pap but they are selling so fast we can barely keep up because it takes a minimum of four weeks from "Grain to Glass."  We have an IPA at 7.5% alcohol, which is refreshingly citrus tasting and not bitter, like most IPAs. Next, we have a Porter, which is a dark beer at 6% alcohol, which is very smooth.  Our third tap is forever changing to give our customers a delightful change from the other two. So far we have had a Pale Ale and an Amber Ale. Eric, our "Brewmaster," has over 12 years experience brewing, so he really knows what he is doing. R-Bar Brew House is the Only Craft Beer Brew Pub on the Beach.

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