GAINESVILLE, Fla. — On a given night it's not unusual to see signs out in front of Spurrier's Gridiron Grille reserving parking spots for the likes of
Billy Napier, Todd Golden, etc. You won't see one holding a place for the "Head Ball Coach" himself, however.
When Steve Spurrier goes to his popular namesake restaurant he doesn't come in the front door. That's not his style.
"I like to park in the back by the dumpster," the former Florida football coach and Gators icon said. "I have a little sign I put on my dash that has my name on it. I haven't gotten a ticket yet, so it's working so far."
If Spurrier has any inclination to alter his entrance methods, though, a new sign on the premises should wield even more parking privilege. By early Friday night, the thoroughfare currently known as SW 31st Place that cuts through Celebration Pointe will be christened as "Steve Spurrier Way."
The renaming will be made official during a ceremony at the promenade in front of the HBC's popular restaurant, starting at 5:30 p.m. It is open to the public.
Former UF coach and Hall-of-Famer Steve Spurrier at his restaurant.
The idea to rename the street was the brainstorm of Spurrier's business colleague, Gridiron Grille managing partner Freddie Wehbe, along with Celebration Pointe developer Svein Dyrkolbotn, the UF civil engineering graduate and former Gators basketball player on the 1994 Final Four squad.
Freddie Wehbe
"It's very fitting," Wehbe said. "Now Steve Spurrier Way will run through the heart of Celebration Pointe just as the legend himself runs through the heart of Gator Nation."
The accounting of local landmarks honoring Spurrier already included a Heisman Trophy statue in his likeness in front of Steve Spurrier Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Now add a named street in front of his named restaurant. The Science Hill High School field he starred on in Johnson City, Tenn., also bears his name.
What's left?
"Spurrierville," perhaps?
"Someone told me they should have called it 'Steve Spurrier Pass,' " he said. "That would have been pretty good."
Yes, but this "Way" will work just fine. Now place Spurrier alongside the likes of other Hall-of-Fame coaches — Don Shula, Paul "Bear" Bryant, Bobby Bowden — to famously have streets renamed in their honor in the towns their sports achievements helped make famous.
But keep the back door unlocked.
