Small Business Spotlight: John Messmore of Sweet Sage Cafe

"73 Years Without a Steady Job"

If you’ve ever driven down Gulf Blvd through the Redington or Madeira Beach areas, you’ve likely driven past a landmark restaurant that’s been well-loved by residents and visitors alike for over 35 years. With a carefree vibe, friendly service, and an outdoor dining area that rivals your favorite brunch spot in Key West, the Sweet Sage Café is simply a place like none other.

How It All Started

Purchased by John Messmore and his wife, Barbara, back in 2005 from the original owner, this charming restaurant across from the beach offers a wide variety of breakfast and lunch dishes that will please just about any pallet. Guests at the Sweet Sage café can choose from about a dozen variations of eggs benedict, mouth-watering salads, hearty sandwiches, burgers, desserts, and of course mimosas. There’s even a famous “Canine Cuisine Menu" so your pup can dine with you on the back patio. Favorite dog menu items include “Mutt Loaf, Snoopie Soufflé and French Poodle” (aka French Toast).

A common sight among diners in this special place is the owner, John Messmore, who can often be found either sitting with guests as they enjoy the flavored coffee of the day, or strolling through the outdoor area to say hello to the regulars and new visitors who come from all over the world. Messmore has a reputation for having a fabulous sense of humor, which is obvious from the decorated walls of his restaurant, that are filled with witty, sarcastic, and outright funny signs, souvenirs, and photos. When it comes to how much time Messmore spends at the Sweet Sage everyday, he lives by an important lesson saying, "The success of you business is in direct proportion to your involvement." Fittingly, during this interview, Messmore was approached by a customer who just had to have a laugh with him about a humorous quote that was hanging over his table while he dined. Often described as friendly and warm, anyone who knows Messmore is surely aware of his penchant for getting to know the folks who support his local business. When asked what makes Sweet Sage such a special place, he jokingly says the company's focus on customer service is simple, "we'll treat you so many ways, you're bound to like one of them."  Another motto he likes to live by is, “Life’s greatest gift is to touch the lives of those not intended,” further explaining that he and his staff, “touch someone’s life every single day.”

Raised along the beaches since the early 1950’s, Messmore was originally from the Midwest. His father moved to Redington Beach in 1949 and the family followed in 1950. The Sweet Sage Café has a long history with Messmore's family. When his father closed on one of his first Redington real estate purchases with former Realtor, Madge Gibson, the closing was held at a local real estate office, which is now the lobby of the Sweet Sage Cafe. The 2 waterfront lots his father purchased cost him $2,750 each at the time. His father was also involved in the restaurant business and owned a Howard Johnson on the corner of Pasadena and Central Avenue in St Pete. Messmore says he was involved in the family business at an early age, washing dishes at the Howard Johnson at the age of 5, making .25 cents an hour. Looking back, he says much of his father's success in business, "came from the contacts he made in real estate." Messmore has been a client of the Sandy Hartmann Group for a number of years, while acquiring commercial real estate, and shares the same sentiments his father had, knowing the history of many of the oldest buildings along Gulf Blvd. 

Growing up along the beaches, Messmore also waited tables at the former Tides Beach Club (which is now the Tides Condo Community). As another famous landmark of Redington Beach, the Beach Club was often frequented by celebrities and professional athletes. Messmore even recalls serving Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe one day while he worked there. Enthusiastically remembering what Monroe ordered, “an avocado and an iced tea with 2 lemons,” it’s obvious that Redington Beach won Messmore’s heart early on in his life. At the age of 15, Messmore was inspired to open his first business in Redington Beach, a water ski school, located in front of the former La Playa on Redington Beach (the property was razed in the early 2000’s and is now the La Contessa Condo Building on Redington Beach). 

An Advocate for Doing What You Love

Messmore is also the owner of several other businesses in the Midwest and in Florida, joking that he's gone "73 years without a steady job," saying he’s always loved being self-employed, because it’s allowed him to have a life of “freedom, creativity, and flexibility.” While Messmore did move away from Florida at one point to be with his father, who had returned to the Midwest later in life, Messmore eventually moved back to Redington Beach to reside in his old homestead.

The Sweet Sage Café and the adjoining Sweet Sage Boutique are now fixtures on Gulf Blvd, serving thousands of people over the years. On weekends and during 'snowbird season' it's not uncommon to see a crowd waiting for tables outside the front of the Cafe. 

Guests can snap photos on the front patio area that boasts the front half of a comically decorated boat while they wait, shop in the boutique for clothing, jewelry, and artwork, or simply enjoy easy conversaton with the other patrons who are there for the same reasons- the vibe, great weather, and even better food. The Café is also dog-friendly for outside diners, as you probably guessed by now, and it's not an uncommon sight to see one of Messmore's own pups, Sherman and Sissy, hanging out in the boutique with his wife, Barbara, and her employees. For patrons who are on the hunt for unique gifts, the gift shop at the front of the Café is full of decor, household items, pastries and more. 

As the owner of one of the most popular breakfast and lunch restaurants along the beaches, plus the adjoining clothing and jewelry boutique his wife operates, it’s obvious Messmore has no plans of slowing down any time soon. When asked what advice he’d give to someone else that’s thinking about starting their own business, he says, “Ask yourself, ‘when am I the happiest?’ And whatever the answer is, figure out how to take your avocation and make it your vocation.”

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