Mother-son duo re-launch Milton seafood restaurant

MILTON — What might seem like a simple real estate purchase and small business venture actually has a back-story that starts on a small New York farm.

From Centerville, N.Y., to sunny Pensacola, with stops in Afghanistan, the Nichols Surf and Turf story was created and built on the frustrations of the corporate world and dangers of enemy fire in combat.

A FAMILY AFFAIR

In October of 2017 Robert Preston, a local real estate investor and U.S. Marine Corps pilot stationed at Naval Air Station Whiting field, partnered with Jessica Kern, his mother and long-time manager of Olive Garden, to purchase the iconic Milton restaurant Nichol's Seafood.

In the past, Nichol's had been an epicenter of activity and life on the Blackwater River. However, Hurricane Ivan devastated the facility and the previous owner moved the restaurant to its current location on Avalon Boulevard. Over the years the restaurant experienced a slow decline.

Robert saw an opportunity to bring it back to the life it had previously known and began to put the pieces together for the purchase.

One question was who would run and manage the restaurant. Robert didn’t have to look far for help. His mother and stepfather were pros when it came to the restaurant business. At the time of purchase, Jessica was managing the Augusta, Ga., Olive Garden and Eric, her husband, was managing a Cracker Barrel in Aiken, SC.

Both Eric and Jess were fed up with the corporate culture and lack of control over their lives and schedules. For years they had dreamed about owning their own restaurant where they could focus on customer service and building relationships with the community.

They never thought that the American dream of restaurant ownership would lead them to the small but growing town of Milton, Florida.

AN INSPIRATION

After completing two combat tours in Afghanistan as an MV-22 pilot in the USMC, and receiving enemy gunfire on an almost daily basis, Robert decided that he needed to make some life decisions.

The first was to follow Jesus; the second was to marry his childhood sweetheart Misty; and the third was to create his own real estate investment company.

The newly married couple was transferred by the Marine Corps from Camp Lejeune to NAS Whiting Field in 2013.

In the beginning, Robert and Misty never thought they would own a restaurant. They began their real estate journey flipping houses but over time they began to invest more into commercial real estate. That’s where local broker Phil Wholly introduced them to Nichol's Seafood.

Being inspired by one of Robert’s icons, Quint Studer, Robert and Misty decided that they’d take the risk of buying a run-down restaurant in the hopes of bringing it back to life and creating jobs for the community.

Equally important to Robert was the opportunity to give his mother her lifelong dream of owning her own restaurant. He had watched her work herself to the bone in the corporate system for little to no reward. Knowing that Jessica and Eric could take their experience and expertise from national brands like Olive Garden and Cracker Barrel and combine their passion for customer service, Robert sought out a local Pace investor to fund the purchase and they were off to feed the masses.

After two months of extensive cleaning, renovating, training and rebranding, this mother-and-son team is ready to announce the grand opening of Nichols Surf & Turf on Dec. 9.

"Please join us that day from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. to sample our new menu and experience our newly renovated facility," a media release stated.