TAMPA, Fla. — Skipper’s Smokehouse in Tampa celebrated one of their longtime workers, Vicky Dodds, by picking up the cost of air travel to Europe this fall.

Vicky recently retired after working at Skipper’s for 44 years.

She graduated from the University of South Florida and soon started a job at the Tampa bar, restaurant, and live music venue in 1980, which is the same year of the place’s establishment.

What You Need To Know

  •  Vicky Dodds recently retired from Skipper's Smokehouse in Tampa after working there for 44 years

  •  Vicky is still coming once a week to feed the cats at Skipper's

  •  The owners of the Tampa establishment gifted Vicky with the air tickets to a European wedding she is attending this fall

But it is hard to keep Vicky away from a place she so dearly loves.

Vicky still comes back once a week to feed the cats who have become mascots at Skipper’s.

The kitties at Skipper’s live the good life. Even the ones that came around at first sneakily looking for scraps.

"We called him Grey Ghost because he would come in and eat the cat food and then sneak out like a ghost,” said Vicky. “And sometimes we wouldn't see him for days.”

Grey Ghost is now a well fed, plump feline who loves sticking around Skipper’s. 

Vicky takes care of him and five others.

"Gronk and Brady, two of our cats. They showed up here the morning after Tampa Bay won the Super Bowl," she said.

It has been a winning relationship between Vicky and Skipper’s.                

The Tampa establishment has been operating since 1980.

If it were up to Cricket Larson, one of owners at Skipper’s, Vicky would stick around for a while longer too.

However, Vicky surprised Cricket with recent news of her retirement.

"I just kind of ignored it,” said Cricket. “I mean, she had been here longer than I'd been alive. She came with the place when they signed the papers back in 1980."

Vicky dedicated 44 years to Skipper’s and the Tampa music scene.

Now, she comes back to have a beer on the other side of the bar and for something else dear to her heart.

"After all this time, I just can't leave without taking care of the kitties," said Vicky.

The owners told us they miss having Vicky in her many roles at Skipper’s but still appreciate her for all she still does at the location.

"Vicky is an important part of our family and always will be whether she's here every day or not," Cricket said.

At a recent retirement party, the folks at Skipper’s gifted Vicky with tickets to one of her first retirement adventures.

"My niece is getting married in Sicily this fall, so I'm flying to Italy," Vicky said.

That leaves Grey Ghost, Brady, Gronk and the rest of the crew to hold down the fort at Skipper's while Vicky is gone.