Goodland’s Little Bar Knows How to Throw a Party

It’s hard to imagine a better party in Southwest Florida than the one staged in Goodland Saturday night. A capacity crowd packed the Little Bar for the annual Spammy Jammy, the season-ending bash where locals and visitors alike show up in their pajamas to help the iconic restaurant, bar, and music venue ward off hurricanes until they reopen in the fall.

"We have the Spammy Jammy to ward off the summer hurricanes,” said Niki Bauer, who owns the Little Bar along with brother Ray Bozicnik. "It's our end-of-the-year party. Tonight's our last night and then we close till October. It's done wonders for our bar. We had no water during Irma, we had no water during Ian.”

While it’s hard to explain scientifically, the folks at the Little Bar definitely believe that Spammy Jammy keeps the Little Bar safe from hurricanes. The tradition started humbly enough, back when the Little Bar really was just a little bar.

"We've been doing Spammy Jammy forever,” Bauer said, reflecting back to bygone days. "Even when we started in 1978, whenever there was a storm, people would just show up at the old Little Bar and bring food, wearing their pajamas. You know, we always had little snacks and stuff out. So it's been going on for quite some time now.”

This year’s theme, What’s Spam Got to Do With It, is a nod to singer, songwriter and actress Tina Turner, who passed on May 24. What’s Love Got To Do With It was one of Turner’s biggest hits. Bauer wore a dress and hairstyle befitting Turner, known as the queen of rock ’n’ roll.

One might say that Spammy Jammy is a bit underrated when compared to other Southwest Florida events. Bauer, whose duties include booking the musical acts at the Little Bar, feels Spammy Jammy deserves to be recognized.

"I do,” Bauer said as a contestant arrived with a Spam creation for Spammy Jammy’s Spam Creations Competition. “There were a couple places I went today and people were asking me why I had my hair this way. And I said, 'Spammy Jammy, Little Bar.' They go, 'Oh, we were there last year. We've been there! It's tonight?' So they're actually going to come down. I am Spammy Turner tonight. Spammy Jammy is known everywhere. I mean, when I travel and mention the Little Bar, people go, ‘Oh, the place that has Spammy Jammy.' So that's us."

The Spam Creations Competition includes categories for Art, Food, and Architecture. Winners are picked by eight judges, who Bauer wines and dines, actually encouraging them to live it up at the Little Bar’s expense.

"They get dinner and drinks,” Bauer said. "And they get some crazy hat that I make. And it's just a good time with friends. We've got a great bunch of judges. We try to find some new judges every year. Some of them have made Spam creations in the past and decided that they would like to do something a little different, so they’re judging this year. Staff members don't judge anymore. They said that we weren’t fair, so we bring the judges from the outside. We have a really good bunch of judges from all over Naples, including our fish purveyor, Chucky Mundt.”

The judges for the 2023 Spammy Jammy were Nancy Titus, Tara O’Neill, Mundt, Gary Krist, Lauren Kneipp, Georgi Goldstein, Peggy Koelle, and Stockton Koelle.

Peggy Koelle, a former longtime concierge at the Marco Beach Hotel (now the J.W. Marriott), is the senior judge at 91.

“Don’t tell everybody," the effervescent nonagenarian jokes. Then she pushes up her hair with her hand and says, "You can call me Lolita.”

The entries are set up in the Papa Ray room behind the bar area. The room is a tribute to Niki and Ray’s father, who was a restaurateur. His restaurant, Andy’s Steak House, was an upscale restaurant in Oakbrook, Illinois.

"We have quite a few entries already here,” Bauer said. "A few people called and said they might be a little late with their entries, but the tables are full.”

Goldstein was shocked when she walked into the Papa Ray room to perform her judging duties.

“I didn’t even know this room existed,” Goldstein said excitedly.

The people’s choice seemed to be Rhonda Spamtis Drag Queen by Amanda Boekhout. And the judges got it right, naming Boekhout the winner in the architecture division.

First place in the food category went to Kathleen Pomakis’ Spamtastic Desserts. Her Spam brownies made the rounds at the judges’ dinner table to rave reviews. Pomakis made the drive down from Ft. Myers for Spammy Jammy.

In the art category, Jenny Branston won with Spambill, a beautiful display featuring one of the area’s favorite birds, the roseate spoonbill.

The evening also includes five heats of the toilet paper roll race, where rolls of toilet paper are hung from a long pole. Contestants line up shoulder to shoulder and race to see who can empty their toilet paper roll the fastest.

"We do five heats,” Bauer said, "and then we have a prize for all of them. So yeah, we've been doing that for years, too.”

A new contest was added this year. A life-size cardboard cutout of Ray, dressed in a robe, holding a pair of coconuts in front of him, is used for a Spammy Jammy version of Pin the Tail on the Donkey.  In this case, contestants are challenged to pin a paper lime between the coconuts.

Of course, Bauer had a great entertainment lineup for Spammy Jammy, featuring the Raiford Starke Band, headed by local favorite Raiford Starke. Lee Brovitz joined Starke on bass and Dave Wooten was on drums. Also on the bill were the Low Mids, featuring Bonefish Johnny and Rockin’ Jake.

The Little Bar will be closed until October. But Bauer already has an event to plan for this fall.

“It'll be our 45th year,” she smiled. "I just can't believe it."