provided to The Santiva Chronicle
Doc Ford’s Rum Bar & Grille celebrated National Yucatán Shrimp Day in May, serving 12,350 signature Yucatán menu items and bottles of sauce, giving away swag-filled YETI coolers to four lucky winners and hosting a 7K run in Sanibel. The national day, started by Doc Ford’s in 2020, actually spanned several weeks at the restaurant’s Sanibel, Fort Myers Beach, St. Petersburg Jungle Terrace and St. Petersburg Pier locations.
“National Yucatán Shrimp Day is our biggest annual holiday and the response was amazing,” said Joe Harrity, a partner with HM Restaurant Group, which owns and operates Doc Ford’s Rum Bar & Grille. “Customers were excited to participate in the prize drawing and the race.”
New this year to Sanibel’s festivities, the May 24 race attracted over 350 participants and featured a 7-kilometer course in honor of the seven ingredients in the restaurant’s proprietary Yucatán sauce. Awards were presented to the top finishers in each age group and overall winners. All participants were automatically entered in a drawing for a branded YETI cooler. The event raised $7,500 for the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation’s Sea School and its mission of protecting and caring for the region’s coastal ecosystems.
A menu mainstay for over 20 years and featured in The New York Times, Doc Ford’s iconic Yucatán Shrimp pairs steamed peel-and-eat shrimp with a savory spicy sauce made from butter, fresh Key lime juice, garlic, cilantro, Colombian chili pepper sambal, salt and pepper. The restaurants served over 3,800 pounds of shrimp during the contest.
The sauce also brings out the flavors in Doc Ford’s Yucatán shrimp tacos, baked oysters, Yucatán bloody Mary and the new fried chicken sandwich. It’s also sold by the bottle at each restaurant and online.
Customers qualified for the grand-prize drawings simply by ordering a Yucatán item or buying a bottle of sauce between May 1 and May 24. The contest garnered 12,350 entries for the customized YETI coolers filled with T-shirts, koozies, bottles of Yucatán sauce and $100 gift cards.
The winners, all hailing from Florida, are:
• Sanibel: Erica Greskoviak
• Fort Myers Beach: Danny Brito
• St. Petersburg Pier: Tanya Duffy
• Jungle Terrace: Terri Amick
Renowned for its legendary guest experience, Doc Ford’s Rum Bar & Grille is open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. The award-winning restaurant offers food with a unique balance of flavors inspired by the Caribbean Rim. A local favorite, Doc Ford’s is known for its sauces, spices and passion. The restaurant is beloved by locals and visitors alike as a spectacular seafood restaurant and is a perennial Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice winner. The St. Petersburg Pier was named the No. 1 Best of the Best Restaurants for Everyday Eats in 2023.
Philanthropy and community outreach are engrained in HM Restaurant Group’s company philosophy. Proceeds from specialty cocktails at Doc Ford’s raise money for children’s hospitals and water quality issues. HM Restaurant Group also supports local nonprofits dedicated to conservation, community, education and the environment. The “Ding” Darling Doc Ford’s Tarpon Tournament has raised over $1.57 million for Sanibel’s J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge since its inception in 2012. The 14th annual tournament is May 15, 2026.
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