Alan Rollish
1961 - 2008
Alan Robert Rollish, of Fort Lauderdale, died suddenly at Martin Memorial Hospital on July 22, 2008. He was born April 26, 1961, was raised in Cromwell, CT, and graduated from Vinal Technical School in 1979.
He is predeceased in death by his father Albert A. Rollish and survived by his mother Frances M. Rollish. He was a brother to Terri Hurlburt and her husband Richard, Norwich, CT; Donna Ceplenski, Daytona Beach, FL; Thomas Phillips, Zephyrhills, FL; Gary Phillips, Cromwell, CT; Michael Hurlburt, and wife Marianne, Cape Coral, FL; Jeffrey Hurlburt, Cromwell, CT; Nancy Birmingham, Port St. Lucie, FL; Cheryl Burke, and husband Ed, South Easton, MA, Laurie Rapp, and husband Richard, Middletown, CT, and uncle to many nieces and nephews.
He was best known as "Big Al", and was employed by Southport Raw Bar in Fort Lauderdale for 27 years. He had an ability to make us laugh and was loved by many. He was awarded the Service Bartender Award in 2000. He enjoyed golf, scuba diving, fishing, the Red Sox, Celtics, spending time with his family and friends, and his beloved pets Nutmeg and Trippy. All who knew and loved him are invited to celebrate his life at Southport Raw Bar on Friday, July 25th, 6:00 PM to close. "Loving Memories Last Forever"
Published in the Sun-Sentinel on 7/25/2008
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Michael Mayo ( Mayo on the Side )
RIP, Southport's Big Al
Posted by Michael Mayo
If you’ve been to the Southport Raw Bar on Cordova Road in Fort Lauderdale, chances are you knew the bartender they called Big Al.
He poured me a lot of cold beers through the years, and shucked me a couple bushels of oysters, too, from his raw bar perch by the dockside entrance.
Big Al died of heart failure on Tuesday, a sudden and shocking loss to a local institution known worldwide.
He was 47.
His full name was Alan Robert Rollish, and he starting working at the Southport in 1981 after moving from Cromwell, Connecticut. Buddy Sherman, co- owner and manager of the Southport, said Al worked his way from the kitchen to the raw bar to the bar.
Sherman recalled him as a loyal employee who endeared himself to customers with a wit that could alternate from self-deprecating to blistering. The better he knew you, the more he’d rag on you.
Big Al was one of those old-school bartenders, the kind who’d actually give you a draft on the house if you were clued into the proper etiquette on tipping, who’d let you run a tab and then shock you with the low tally at the end of the night, a guy who actually had some personality with moods that could run hot and cold.
The kind of bartender who made you want to come back again soon.
The kind of bartender I found often in my youth in New York, but hardly ever anymore.
He was part of what made the Southport one of my favorite spots in South Florida -- a place that still feels like South Florida. Along with Le Tub in Hollywood, it’s a place I bring visitors to show what local color is like. The Southport's bumper stickers are seen everywhere: “Eat Fish – Live Longer. Eat Oysters – Love Longer. Eat Clams – Last Longer."
Al had a health scare a couple of years ago, when he was diagnosed with diabetes after getting a nasty infection that wouldn’t heal.
“He looked like hell and I thought we were going to lose him then,” Sherman said. “He managed to bounce back and started insulin injections on a regular basis and trying to eat right.”
He died while visiting his sister in Port St. Lucie.
The Southport will hold a tribute on Friday, from 6 p.m. until closing. Sherman said the restaurant would donate the proceeds of the raw bar cash register that Al worked to help his family with “the expenses of Big Al’s next journey.”
Cheers and Godspeed, Big Al.