{"id":352442,"date":"2026-07-25T21:43:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T21:43:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/352442\/"},"modified":"2026-07-25T21:43:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T21:43:07","slug":"one-bowl-of-gumbo-two-meals-a-day-and-a-friendship-that-saved-a-florida-mans-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/352442\/","title":{"rendered":"One bowl of gumbo, two meals a day and a friendship that saved a Florida man’s life"},"content":{"rendered":"

For years, Charlie Hicks was as much a fixture at the Shrimp Basket in Pensacola as the food simmering in the kitchen.<\/p>\n

The longtime customer rarely missed a meal, stopping in twice a day for the same order: a cup of gumbo with light rice and no cracker.<\/p>\n

So when Hicks unexpectedly disappeared, employees immediately sensed something was wrong.<\/p>\n

According to CBS Evening News<\/a>, Chef Donell Stallworth left the restaurant during his shift to check on the regular customer at his apartment. After getting no response at the door, he was about to leave when he heard a plea for help coming from inside.<\/p>\n

Stallworth found Hicks on the floor, where he had apparently been lying for days. The then-79-year-old was severely dehydrated and had suffered two broken ribs, but he survived after being taken to the hospital.<\/p>\n

See also: Hemingway hopefuls battle it out with beards and bravado at Key West’s look-alike contest<\/a><\/p>\n

The close call inspired the restaurant staff to make sure it wouldn’t happen again.<\/p>\n

While Hicks recovered, employees brought him bowls of his favorite gumbo. They also helped him move into a new apartment next door to the restaurant, outfitted it with new appliances and furnishings, and made sure he had neighbors who would notice if he ever missed another meal.<\/p>\n

When Hicks was healthy enough to return, he slid back into his usual seat and ordered the dish that had become part of his daily routine.<\/p>\n

The friendship between Hicks and the restaurant has only grown since.<\/p>\n

Months after the story first gained national attention, visitors continue making trips to the Pensacola restaurant hoping to meet its most famous regular. According to Stallworth, many skip the menu entirely and ask for “Charlie’s Gumbo.”<\/p>\n

The restaurant has since renamed its signature gumbo in Hicks’ honor and even installed a lighted walking path to make it easier for him to get to and from his daily meals.<\/p>\n

What began as a customer-and-server relationship has become something far more lasting \u2014 proof that sometimes the people who know your order best can end up knowing your heart, too.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For years, Charlie Hicks was as much a fixture at the Shrimp Basket in Pensacola as the food…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":352443,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29],"class_list":["post-352442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=352442"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352442\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/352443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=352442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=352442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=352442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}