The Interview Nick Matousch cooks up some conversation with OC legend Bob Harbaugh at his restaurant Bob's Grill
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AVE you ever met a legend? If you ever tell anyone you are going to meet Bob Harbaugh, that is what they will ask you. An entrepreneur of one of the oldest businesses in Ocean City, Bob of Bob’s Grill is a living legend. An accomplished businessman and successful former lifeguard, Harbaugh celebrates 91 years of the successful restaurant his father started as a hot dog stand. How long have you worked at the restaurant? This is my 67th year. What did Bob’s originally serve? Hot dogs and hamburgers and grilled cheese.
What was your lifeguarding career like? I guarded for six years – two on 9th Street and four on 14th Street. I was on 9th Street – the most treacherous beach after they put in the jetty – because I could swim. I was a swimmer [in the South Jersey Lifeguard Championships] when I was 15. I rowed doubles but [my partner and I] came in second a lot of the time. I rowed singles and beat the champion from Avalon at the Margate Memorials twice. Are you still involved with the lifeguards? I am in the Hall of Fame. I support them by hanging photos of them in the restaurant. Every year I am presented with a picture of the newest class of lifeguards. What did you do after lifeguarding? My freshman year in college at Bucknell was 1949. I studied business. I went into the Air Force for 22 months. Then I went back to Bucknell and graduated.
What was your father’s stand called before it was “Bob’s Grill”? Just “Bob’s”. How did you get involved with your father’s restaurant? In 1953 we had a beach stand at 17th Street, 920 Boardwalk, and we had another store at First and the Boardwalk. When I got out of the service my father said you are going to run 17th Street. I said no – you buy [the property on]14th Street and you have a deal. Billy Richmond of Richmond Ice Cream owned the property. My father sold 17th Street and bought it.
What kind of culture would you say you have created in this restaurant? Kids come here as youngsters, and they leave with an education about dealing with people. That is the one-on-one relationship with the customer and the waitress. It is an experience. Generations of kids come back. Employees do not hang around for a year – they hang around for 10 or 20.
What was so special about 14th Street? I guarded here for four years. It was where the action was. In 1947 people came to 14th Street. This is where all the kids came out. It was the place to go. When you were younger did you have any other jobs besides Bob’s Grill? I was a lifeguard. I went into the brokerage business in Philadelphia. I was selling stocks and bonds. I had an engineering supply and reproduction business in St. Petersburg. I had a ski shop here in Ocean City. I built apartments too. I tried quite a few things. The experience was good, but I kept coming back to Ocean City in the summer. After trying other things I knew this was what I wanted to do.
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OCEAN CITY MAGAZINE AUGUST 2019
Your favorite dish at Bob’s Grill? The cream dried beef. It’s on the menu as “Bob’s Special”. What was your father – the original Bob – like? My father was unbelievable. He did not party, he was strictly business. What is your motto? I hope the sun shines. What kind of books do you read? Mostly nonfiction; I enjoy Bill O’Reilly books. - photo by Avery Schuyler
