Pool Bar Jim has big plans for his return ... starting soon

Pool Bar Jim is planning his comeback.

Months after leaving his 20-plus year stint as a poolside bartender at the Marriott Grande Ocean Resort, Jim Lisenby (aka Pool Bar Jim) said he is working on a deal to open an oceanfront bar sometime next year.

He’s keeping the details, though, close to his chest.

“This is probably the last deal I’ll ever do,” he said Tuesday. “I want to make sure it’s the right deal with the right place, and we can set it up the way I want to set it up.”

In the meantime, the beloved bartender known for his frozen concoctions will make a one-day appearance — and serve anywhere from 1,500 to 2,000 drinks with the help of some fellow bartenders — from noon to 6 p.m. Oct. 9 at Captain Woody’s on Hilton Head Island for “Captain Woody’s Frozen Benefit.”

Lisenby said all proceeds will go to support K9s for Warriors, a nonprofit that provides service dogs to those in the military who battle post traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury and military sexual trauma from their service, according to the charity’s website.

“It just seemed like the perfect marriage to be able to do what we’re going to do,” he said about the benefit.

Lisenby’s absence from Pool Bar Jim’s at the Marriott Grande Ocean started just before the July 4th holiday weekend this past summer. Vacationers and locals noticed that the original menus Lisenby had created, his merchandise and signage were suddenly pulled from the bar and his name removed from bar receipts. When they questioned the resort, they said they were told that Lisenby was “shut down for the holiday.”

A Facebook post dedicated to Pool Bar Jim’s, however, said the bartender had been suspended from serving customers during the holiday. He has not returned to the resort since.

Lisenby said he couldn’t talk about what happened at Marriott Grande Ocean but said he’s enjoyed the time off.

“I haven’t had a summer off in years, like decades,” he said. “I just decided that I was going to take the summer off.”

After news of Lisenby’s absence hit social media, commenters, poolgoers and PBJ fans took to TripAdvisor and the Marriott Grande Ocean Resort’s Facebook page to complain; there were even protests by the pool.

Lisenby said he was impressed with the support he received, not only from the locals but the timeshare owners at the resort as well.

“I’ve got 22 years in with that company,” he said. “I don’t have any hard feelings toward Marriott whatsoever. I just think it’s a wonderful company. Unfortunately, they put people in place sometimes that you just don’t have the ability to get along with, and at some point in time you just got to, like Kenny Rogers said, ‘Know when to fold ‘em.’ ”

However, Lisenby said he does miss seeing the families he’s served over the years.

“(Good service is) all about relationships,” he said. “Customers seeing me, me seeing them, catching up, seeing what happened over the last year, and doing that with all those different families — it becomes pretty special.”

Fans of PBJ will be happy to hear that Lisenby plans to keep the same menus, merchandise and signage at his new bar.

“Maybe (it’ll be) even better,” he said. “Because now I won’t have to ask anybody for any permission to do anything.”

This story was originally published September 27, 2016 at 4:32 PM with the headline "Pool Bar Jim has big plans for his return ... starting soon."