New era in the works for items from Trader Jon's Law firm donates memorabilia to Naval Aviation Museum group

Retired Vice Adm. Jack Fetterman believes a replica of Trader Jon's -- the legendary Pensacola nightclub that was an off-base home to generations of Navy pilots and sailors -- could be resurrected as a restaurant in the proposed maritime park on Pensacola's waterfront.

Fetterman opened the possibility of Trader Jon's continuing on into the 21st century after a Pensacola law firm donated the Navy and military memorabilia from the bar -- about 10,000 items in all -- to the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation on Friday. Fetterman is CEO and president of the foundation.

"If we can get the maritime waterfront going, then this memorabilia and a re-creation of Trader Jon's, with a restaurant, would support a maritime museum," Fetterman said.

Trader Jon's opened on New Year's Day 1953 and was synonymous with its owner and namesake, Martin "Trader Jon'' Weissman, who died in 2000 at the age of 84. His wife, Jackii Weissman, died this year.

Trader Jon's closed in 1998, two years after "Trader Jon" Weissman suffered a stroke. The bar reopened in 2000 after then-Navy pilot Matt Heckemeyer purchased the club. Heckemeyer closed the doors for good in November 2003 and recently sold the memorabilia to the Pensacola law firm of Aylstock, Witkin & Sasser.

The memorabilia, which has been appraised at more than $2 million, according to the firm, is stored locally.

"We are proud to help save the history of people who made history," said senior law partner Bryan Aylstock. "Trader Jon's was more than a bar. It was a treasure chest of collective experiences and memories that must remain in Pensacola."

Trader Jon's was a must-stop for generations of Navy pilots and sailors, many of whom traded memorabilia for free drinks. On the walls hung flight suits, autographs of some of the nation's greatest pilots and astronauts, squadron insignias and airplane replicas.

Fetterman said he hopes the memorabilia would be the centerpiece of a complex modeled after Trader Jon's in the proposed park.

But if plans for the park don't pass, Fetterman said there are other options for the memorabilia, including finding a stand-alone venue for the collection somewhere in the city.