Pat McClellan, the longtime Flora-Bama owner who helped turn a small state-line roadhouse into one of the Gulf Coast’s most recognizable institutions, has died.
The Flora-Bama announced Friday that McClellan died peacefully in his sleep Wednesday evening.
“Some people own a business. Pat McClellan built a legend,” the venue said in a tribute posted to Facebook.
A University of Minnesota graduate, McClellan entered the Navy Flight Program in 1971 and served for four years aboard the USS Lexington as a public affairs and special services officer.
After leaving the Navy, he began working as a bartender at Rosie O’Grady’s in Pensacola and eventually became general manager of Seville Quarter. During that period, he helped organize Pensacola’s first Mardi Gras street party and co-chaired the city’s first Mardi Gras committee.
McClellan joined Flora-Bama owner Joe Gilchrist as a partner in the mid-1980s, helping transform what had been a modest beach bar into a sprawling live-music destination known across Alabama, Florida and beyond.
He created or helped develop several of the Flora-Bama’s best-known traditions, including the Polar Bear Dip and the Interstate Mullet Toss, which draws thousands of visitors to the state line each year. The venue also became an important home for Gulf Coast musicians and songwriters.
The Flora-Bama described McClellan as a larger-than-life presence with a booming laugh, an endless supply of stories and a talent for making strangers feel like family.
“If you’ve ever thrown a mullet, toasted with a Bushwacker, danced barefoot to a band you didn’t know you’d love, laughed with a stranger who became a friend, or watched the sun disappear over Perdido Key, you’ve experienced a little piece of Pat’s heart,” the tribute said.
The Flora-Bama opened in 1964 along the Alabama-Florida state line and grew from a small package store into a Gulf Coast landmark featuring live music, annual events, restaurants, a marina and other attractions. The business celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2024.
McClellan’s influence, the venue said, extended beyond its buildings to the community of employees, musicians, military veterans, visitors and longtime regulars who made the Flora-Bama their second home.
“The music will play a little differently. The sunsets will feel a little quieter,” the tribute said.
Details about a celebration of McClellan’s life will be announced later.
Sawyer Knowles is a state and political reporter for Yellowhammer News. You may contact him at [email protected].
