The Final Pour: Our Chat with Nick Zangari of Badlands

After 25 years downtown, Nick Zangari is stepping away from Badlands. My (we don’t) color on the dog co-host Sena Maddison and I sat down with him to reminisce about his journey from the beach to becoming a downtown Pensacola institution.

TRIVIA: Nick was featured in the very first issue of Inweekly back in 1999. We were talking about alcohol on the beach. He later opened Old Town Tavern downtown, and, in 2003, launched New York Nick’s in a location that hadn’t worked for anyone else.

“The original concept was the rock and the jock, the live entertainment, and you didn’t have to listen to the sporting event to watch it,” Nick explained. “We were going to concentrate on the live rock, the rock and jock in the pub and grub.”

From Beach Bar to Downtown Pioneer

The food became legendary, nothing that would win a James Beard Award but consistently good. Many still ask about his mom’s marinara sauce and other homemade recipes. Nick’s approach to food was straightforward:

“I never hired chefs. I hired cooks. Just follow the recipe. Just follow the recipe, make it so it’s consistent so that the customers know it wasn’t the best in the world. It wasn’t a five-star restaurant, but it was good food.”

Nick originally wanted New York Nick’s to be open 24/7, offering free coffee to law enforcement after hours to keep the place safe. While there weren’t enough people downtown at that time to support round-the-clock operations, his vision for what downtown could become was on the horizon.

“People thought we were crazy. We thought we were out of our minds. Who would leave the beach? What are you doing downtown?” Nick recalled. “Well, at that time, every city in the country was trying to rediscover downtown districts. The suburban sprawl had ceased, the malls had got to that point and everything started coming back down to the warehouse, waterfront and historical districts in every city.”

Hurricane Ivan Changed Everything

Hurricane Ivan in 2004 marked a turning point. New York Nick’s became a haven for out-of-town reporters covering the disaster.

“We were the last ones open,” Nick recalled. “These people all came to town to cover the hurricane… They were broadcasting white caps on Palafox and the signs blowing in the wind and it was all over the country.”

The next morning, Nick was doing interviews with morning shows nationwide. People couldn’t believe he’d stayed in the building during the hurricane. “This building’s been here a hundred years; it’s not going anywhere,” he told them.

Pensacola’s Meeting Place

Scott_ROx1711 - Rick's Blog — 2014 Flood

Sena highlighted something unique about Nick’s: “If you were in my line of work at the time, it was law enforcement, and you could come into Nick’s and sit at a table, and everybody at the table can hear each other just fine. But the next table can’t hear the words you’re saying.”

This made it perfect for sensitive conversations. Sheriff Morgan was a regular. I conducted countless interviews there — some with reporters from out of town covering major stories like the Billings case or the BP oil spill.

Even Governor Rick Scott stopped by after the 2014 flood. Nick greeted him with: “Rick Scott, why aren’t you cleaning up after the flood? Everybody else was trying to clean up after the flood. I said, Why not? I’m the only one with flood insurance, and I’m on my way to see Bruce Springsteen in Tampa now.” The governor found it hilarious.

Radio Free Pensacola

Another Nick innovation was Radio Free Pensacola, which we came up with over drinks. Nick, Sena and Fred Touchette were “frustrated DJs” who wanted to play and say what we wanted. With streaming technology freeing us from FCC regulations, we built what Nick called “a penalty box” in the corner of the bar.

“When they say ‘build it, they will come,’ well, we did it,” Nick said. The station developed a loyal following, particularly among Nick’s high school and college friends from across the country.

“You could tell the areas that were lighting up and I’m like, look at this at the analytics. So it was a lot of fun. Like Sena said, play what you want, say what you want and reach out to those people.”

Badlands and Beyond

After New York Nick’s closed, Nick opened Badlands with a significantly smaller menu—mainly popcorn. During the pandemic, he found a creative loophole to stay open by offering cooked food.

“I bought a little turbo oven, and I went and bought Bagel Bites and those little Tony’s pizzas. I priced them not to sell,” he admitted. “After it was over, I had to throw it all away because it got freezer burn. I think I sold like two of each.”

Downtown Pensacola has changed dramatically over the past 25 years. We’ve lost many of the original pioneers who helped revitalize the area—Hopjacks, Breaktime Cafe, Margarita’s Downtown, Frankie’s Pizza, Blimpie, Subway, and Piccadilly Deli. The neighborhood bars with that local dive-bar feel are increasingly rare.

“The evolution of downtown Pensacola will never stop,” Nick observed. “There’s a lot of ‘out with the old and in with the new’ type of mentality.”

While Nick has sold the rights to his lease, Badlands isn’t closing — just changing hands after March Madness and The Final Four. The new owners plan to keep the name initially but may eventually rebrand. Nick is taking all his memorabilia with him.

For Sena and countless others, Nick’s establishments became like family. Her dad loved watching games there; she celebrated birthdays and holidays at the bar. Nick’s was always the place you could count on to be open on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The first sign that the end was near? When Nick didn’t open during the recent “blizzard” in Pensacola. After 25 years of showing up no matter what, he finally took a day off.

After a quarter-century downtown, Nick has no regrets. As he put it: “What a long, strange trip it’s been.”

Thanks for the memories, Nick.

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The Final Pour: Our chat with Nick Zangari before Badlands changes hands

From Beach Bar to Downtown Pioneer

Hurricane Ivan Changed Everything

Pensacola’s Meeting Place

Radio Free Pensacola

Badlands and Beyond

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YouTube

Spotify

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