Thursday, June 2, 2011

About the Pirate Jeff Pleadwell




Jeff and his family arrived on Guam in 1962. Jeff's father, Archer, was hired from Massachusetts to work at the Navy's Piti Power Plant.

After completing high school at George Washington High School, Jeff traveled to Hawaii and worked at the Outrigger Canoe Club. The Outrigger is a well known private club on Waikiki Beach in Honolulu. Jeff truly enjoyed working in the Outrigger as a barboy. He liked meeting interesting people like Duke Kahanamoko, the famous surfer and lifesaver of many lives from Hawaii's coastal waters.

In 1967 Jeff moved to Florida and pursued an education in Hotel Restaurant Management. While attending college in Florida, Jeff worked in various restaurants in St. Petersburg rounding out his education with practical experience in the food and beverage industry. After graduating from Saint Petersburg Junior College in Florida, Jeff packed up his family and moved to Las Vegas, Nevada to complete college at the University of Nevada.

Las Vegas wasn't at all what Jeff expected. Jobs in the restaurant industry were not available to everyone. You had to join the culinary union to be employed in Las Vegas. Jeff decided he did not want to go back to being a barback for a year, as the union required, and looked for employment in the Casinos. He went to school to learn how to deal 21 and then more schooling to learn how to deal craps. Jeff briefly worked at the Freemont Hotel and Golden Nugget Casino's.

Jeff discovered without "juice" you get no where. "Juice" is a term synonymous  with what is also known as "connections". Jeff had no connection and was only in Las Vegas to complete his schooling. Jeff needed a job. Bills needed to be paid so Jeff  went to work for the Checker Cab Company in Las Vegas. This was the only non union taxi cab company in the city. 

Driving cab in Las Vegas for three years was probably the three most exciting years of his life. Jeff was robbed several times and had faced near death situations just a little too often. Jeff felt that "Sin City" was a cruel city and full of people waiting their turn to prosper from others. However, Jeff did make good money driving taxi and enjoyed picking up and meeting many celebrities. Jeff met such notables as Ed Sullivan, Robert Goulet, Fran Tarkington, and many other interesting famous and not so famous people. It was indeed a difficult job with never ending lessons in human behavior and self preservation.

Jeff graduated from UNLV in 1973 and decided to move back to the quiet sleepy Island he loved so much, Guam.

Finding employment quickly was important so Jeff applied at the Bank Of Hawaii and was accepted into a management trainee program. After two years at the bank Jeff decided to move on. Pay for local hires was poor so Jeff took a job managing the Crow's Nest, a large restaurant and bar located in Sinajana. After two years the Crow's Nest was sold and Jeff started a new career at KATB radio station as their sales manager. This was the best position he ever had and Jeff enjoyed working there for 5 years until the station was sold in 1981.

Having lived in Ipan Talofofo since 1975 Jeff always stopped by Pirates Cove. He became friends with Jimmy Cruz the owner. The Cove was a quiet beach bar with an atmosphere unmatched on Guam. When Jimmy passed away in 1979, so Jeff formed a group of investors to purchase the Pirates Cove from Jimmy's widow, Margie. The historic seaside location was then renamed Jeff's Pirates Cove.

Since then, Jeff has spent all these years developing his concept of Jeff's Pirates Cove into what it is today, a location on Guam where the "pirate" in you can have a whole lot of fun.  


Ahoy Mates!!! Welcome to the "Cove"!!

Until next time....

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