The Salty Dog Story: How Bob Gossett Built a Hilton Head Icon

Story by Becca Edwards

Bob Gossett looks back on the moments, memories and marina that shaped the Salty Dog story

Long before the Salty Dog T-shirt became a worldwide souvenir spotted from ski slopes to tropical beaches, Bob Gossett was a young carpenter from Spartanburg searching for opportunity on Hilton Head Island. Nearly four decades later, the founder of the famous Salty Dog Cafe has helped transform South Beach Marina into one of the Lowcountry’s most iconic summertime destinations, while staying true to the laid-back spirit that made it famous. In this conversation, Gossett reflects on the unpredictable path that brought him to Hilton Head, the accidental success of the iconic T-shirt and the salty lifestyle that continues to shape both his family and the future of the popular marina.

Q: What were your early years like? A: I was born and raised in Spartanburg, living a normal teenage life in the ’60s highlighted by driving fast cars and chasing pretty girls. I made my parents proud by returning home with a four-year marketing degree, having achieved it in only 5 1/2 years. After college, I bought a small farm and worked as a carpenter before packing everything into my short-bed Ford and heading to Atlanta to find fame and fortune. After struggling to find work during the brutal winter of 1979, I finally landed a framing job for $4 an hour. Q: How did a carpenter from Spartanburg end up creating the Salty Dog? A: Atlanta turned out to be a bust, so I visited my friend Jody Adrian, who was living on Hilton Head Island. I was familiar with the island, having vacationed here with my family. My childhood memories recalled prehistoric lizards and massive alligators roaming wild along the dirt roads in Sea Pines. I continued my career working with wood and vividly recall a conversation with a fellow carpenter about what we were going to be when we grew up. I proclaimed there were two things I was certain I would never do: own a restaurant or sell clothes. And now look where we are. Perhaps I should have first consulted the gods of fate because a couple of decades later I discovered a photo of my grandparents, who owned a restaurant near South Beach in Miami, and their mascot was a black dog. How creepy is that?

Q: Tell us about your history with South Beach Marina. A: Jody (Adrian) lived at Bluff Villas, and I decided I wanted to live there too. It didn’t take long for me to wander over to the marina and take up a barstool at the “No Name” bar. Bobby Mangun was the bartender and, needless to say, those were wild times. I was working as a carpenter, earning extra money as a charter boat captain and by doing odd jobs for the marina owner, Ned Gilleland. One night in 1986, I was bellied up to the bar when I asked Ned if the “No Name” might ever be available. Well, ask and you shall receive. It wasn’t long before Ned handed me a lease and said, “Sign here, Robert.” I spent that winter transforming the small gazebo and named it after my dog Jake, a flat-coated retriever I had reluctantly adopted instead of a howling coonhound at Hilton Head Humane. So the Salty Dog Cafe was born, and I entered the restaurant business in 1987. 

Q: What were those early days like? A: Salty Dog served shrimp salad to the tennis ladies by day while The Simpson Brothers rocked the docks at night. Eventually, I made a few T-shirts for my staff of four, and one day a man asked to buy one. I said, “You’re crazy. It’s just my dog on a shirt.” He insisted, and I sold him one for $8. The next day another man stopped in, and without questioning his sanity, I collected another $8. In doing so, I officially entered the clothing business. I dusted off my marketing degree, bought an Apple computer and went all in on advertising. I hardly ever left the place during those first few years. Luckily, the economy was clicking, and Salty Dog prospered. We are currently rebuilding half of South Beach and hope to be finished by fall. We’re working hard to preserve the charm people associate with South Beach. The original cafe is still standing, and we do not plan to disturb it.

Q: What does the “salt life” and connection to the Lowcountry mean to you and your family? A: I used to spend most of my spare time on the water. If I wasn’t working, I was fishing. One of my favorites was an all-night shark trip in Calibogue Sound. Jake shared my love for the sea, but instead of fishing, he mostly loved eating the bait. Utilizing our experiences on the water and armed with a bit of creative license, I wrote The Legend of the Salty Dog with Jake as the hero. I have been told that the Salty Dog is the most recognizable icon in the state of South Carolina, and one man once told me his young son could recognize the Salty Dog long before he could talk. We regularly receive pictures of newborn babies wearing Salty Dog T-shirts, and we continue to hear reports of dearly departed fans being buried in theirs. In effect, it becomes their final request. All of this, it seems, because of the lady at Hilton Head Humane who wisely advised me against the coonhound. However, none of it would be possible without a core group of like-minded individuals who share the same passion for Salty Dog and who, like me, have made Salty Dog their life’s work. As for my personal life, I raised my kids on the ocean. I would soothe a young Suzanna to sleep with a mullet we stored in the freezer, and Bobby and Ellie are equally at ease on the water. Bobby can spend hours fishing with his granddad and be perfectly content, even while catching nothing. Salty Dog continues to maintain a small fleet of boats, including a 1943 tug that served with the U.S. Army in the Panama Canal. All of the vessels literally carry the same name: Salty Dog.

Q: What is one fun fact that people may not know about you? A: I entertain myself by writing poetry. There is nothing more inspiring than drifting aimlessly 70 miles offshore on a moonless night. Artificial light is nonexistent, and the only sound you hear is silence. Billions of galaxies and the Milky Way shine magnificently, and it almost feels as if you could reach up and touch the heavens. On that celestial note, here you go:

some nights i sit and wonder

could it possibly be so

the stars are daisies in heaven

and the angels make them grow.

and when the clouds in the sky

water the daisies on the ground

do they water those in heaven

by raining upside down?

if to wish upon a star

will make your dreams come true

maybe wishing upon a daisy

can do the same for you.

so if you’re picking daisies

for whatever reason be

say thank-you to the angels

and save a wish for me …