Jack Tucey

1942 - 2023

Jack Tucey, 80, of Avalon, Catalina, passed away on December 2, 2023. He is survived by his wife and partner of 28 years, Nora Tucey, son Tony, and stepson Kevin.Jack was born on December 10, 1942, in Long Beach, California, to parents Rose and Arthur. He had two sisters Janice and Donna, who are deceased, and a brother Richard. Jack attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School.Jack was always resourceful and innovative. When he was 14 years old, his father gave him and his brother a choice between two chores for the summer: "You either mow the lawn or take out the trash." His brother jumped on trash duty, so Jack was left with no choice but to mow the lawn. He soon discovered that he was allergic to grass, so he pleaded with his father for a different chore, to which his father replied, "That is not my problem! You figure out how to get the lawn mowed." Jack thought long and hard about his predicament, and decided to look for a job in Catalina Island. He landed his first job cleaning a restaurant kitchen before and after restaurant hours. He eventually made enough money to hire a gardener to mow his family's lawn back home. This was the type of resourceful person Jack was.1956 was the same year Jack met the love of his life. She lived "26 miles across the sea." She was mysterious and popular with the old Hollywood types. She was the most beautiful thing Jack had ever laid his eyes on. Her name was Catalina Island.The following summer, Jack returned to Catalina to work for the same restaurant. This time, he was promoted to "hamburger cook." One day, when he got hungry, he helped himself to a hamburger behind the counter. The owner caught him, and yelled, "Jack, why are you hiding there eating my food?!" From that day forward, Jack vowed that if he ever got the chance, he would open a restaurant in Catalina, and his employees could eat anything they wanted: steak, shrimp, anything. Like any teenage boy in love, Jack returned to Catalina again and again. He spent the remainder of his high school summers in Catalina, and was eventually promoted to "kitchen cook." He took a brief break from Catalina when he graduated from high school, and began working for his father's strawberry and apricot jam manufacturing plant in Long Beach. There, he gained invaluable sales experience that was pivotal to his business success.In the 1960s, he opened Food Brokers International, Inc., a brokerage selling olive oil and salad dressings to supermarkets. His contacts in the food industry led him to purchase Girard's Dressings, a line of quality salad dressings. He spent the next 25 years tasting and blending the unique and flavorful dressings and sauces, and sold them to supermarkets and restaurants across the country. Jack would open up the Yellow Pages and cold-call restaurants and grocery stores. (To the younger generation, the Yellow Pages was an ancient system of communication back then. It was a giant book that contained thousands of names and phone numbers.) Jack would sit there day-in and day-out and call every restaurant and grocery store in the book. Sales skyrocketed. He received multiple offers, but declined each and every one because he wanted to make sure his employees do not get laid off. He eventually accepted a lower offer from a buyer who promised to keep operations in California so that his employees would be taken care of. Around the same period, Jack opened Antonio's Pizzeria in the Tropicana Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Little Antonio's Pizzeria on Catalina Island. His pizzeria in Catalina was so popular, Mr. Wrigley, himself, had to wait over an hour for a slice of pizza. One day, Mr. Wrigley proposed to Jack that he should open the same pizzeria on his beachfront property. Jack jumped on the idea because he wanted families to be able to afford simple food in a beachfront environment. Antonio's Cabaret was born, a place where your average Joe can have a slice of pizza and feel like a king dining with an ocean view. In 1995, Jack met Nora, the second love of his life (after Catalina). He met her while they were waiting in line for Chinese food. The cashier mistakenly thought that the two were a couple, so she rang their meals up together. Jack corrected the cashier and paid for his meal separately -- which was followed by immediate regret. He then chased down Nora and offered to pay for her lunch, which she declined. Never one to back away from a challenge, Jack sat himself down next to Nora, and talked her ear off that day and the next 28 years.Jack always wanted people to enjoy life's experiences. Little Antonio's is where you get to eat peanuts and throw the shells on the floor. Antonio's Cabaret was where you can sign dollar bills and stick them to the walls so that you're forever part of the island. El Galleon was a steak and seafood restaurant decorated in New Orleans decor with beads hanging from the rafters. It was kitschy and eclectic, and somehow worked. It also housed Catalina's first karaoke bar. Mi Casita was opened because Jack's employees said they missed good Mexican food. Original Jack's is the quaint, neighborhood diner where you can find a rotary phone next to old pinup posters and a sign that read, "Coffee chocolate men. Some things are just better rich." These were Jack's touches. What he always said was, "You may not remember the food, but you'll always remember the great time you had."For over 25 years, Jack & Nora donated "senior meals" twice a week to the City of Avalon's Senior Program. Kids who spent summers working for the Tuceys got scholarships when they returned to the mainland because that was the "island way." One hot winter, the Tuceys rented a shipping freezer and shipped snow from Big Bear Mountain to Catalina so the kids could experience snow in the streets of Catalina. True to Jack's word, anyone who ever worked in his restaurants was never told they could not have that hamburger, steak, or shrimp. Catalina was the love of Jack's life. Perhaps he knew his time was coming to a close. Perhaps he's just that eccentric. For the past year, Jack secretly commissioned a mural that was painted onto a Catalina building wall to commemorate the history and beauty of Catalina Island. It was unveiled last month on Veteran's Day 2023 - Jack's parting gift to Catalina Island.Memorial services for Jack Tucey will be held on Sunday, December 17, 2023 at 1:00 p.m. at El Galleon Restaurant, 411 Crescent Avenue, Avalon, California. Island attire recommended (e.g. luau shirts and summer dresses). In lieu of flowers or gifts, donations may be made in Jack's name to the Catalina Island Medical Center, the Catalina Museum, the City of Avalon's Senior Program, and Avalon High School.