Slow-Smoked Barbecue. Chilled Sweet Tea. A Century of Unsealed Secrets.
Pull up a chair and let the evening settle.
Before the first evidence dossier is opened, the room fills with the unmistakable comfort of genuine Southern hospitality. The savory aroma of slow-smoked barbecue from Sonny’s drifts through the room, served warm alongside all the fixings – including freshly brewed sweet tea.
The parlor is styled with vintage runner cloths, soft ambient lantern light, and table accents evoking a turn-of-the-century detective’s field desk. There are no echoing banquet halls, rushed buffet lines, or commercial crowds here. With attendance strictly limited—capped at 60 guests in the historic parlor setting at Voices of Pensacola and just 35 on the secluded, lantern-lit grounds of Arcadia Mill—the entire evening carries the exclusive, intimate feel of a private supper club gathering after dark.
Step Inside the Investigation: Supper with a Working Case File
Dinner entertainment is too often synonymous with scripted parodies, campy whodunit skits, or actors performing in costumes.
A Southern Storytelling Supper is something entirely different.
This is an unhurried, porch-side gathering hosted by retired Pensacola Police homicide sergeant Michael Earl Simmons. Bringing more than thirty years of active death-scene experience to the room, Simmons doesn’t simply recount what happened—he puts the entire room into the detective’s shoes:
- An Animated, Living History:
Simmons steps from behind the podium and moves through the room with the natural cadence of a master Southern raconteur. Through rich inflection, wry humor, and vivid scene-setting, he animates the past—recreating the suffocating Gulf humidity of an un-airconditioned 1914 courtroom, the sulfur strike of a match down a dark alley, and the sudden report of black powder shattering a quiet afternoon. - Tactile Evidence at Your Table:
Resting right beside your plate is an interactive case dossier. Throughout the evening, you will unseal coroner’s inquest findings, examine high-resolution archival dockets and period street plats, and inspect early crime-scene photographs. - You Weigh the Verdict:
Simmons turns the file back to the room, drawing guests directly into the tactical decision-making:
“Take a look at the witness statement in Section Two. If you’re a patrolman standing alone on that dirt lane with no radio and no backup in 1920, what is your next tactical move?”Tables debate the clues, test suspect alibis, and deliberate on motive and forensic blind spots before the historical outcome is revealed. - The Sweet Tea Murders Content Guarantee:
Every presentation remains strictly family-friendly (recommended ages 12+), alcohol-free, and presented with zero profanity and no gratuitous gore. The drama comes from human motives, forensic problem-solving, and the pursuit of justice.
A generous plate of slow-smoked barbecue, cold sweet tea in a heavy Mason jar, and an authentic historical murder mystery unraveled alongside a veteran investigator—it is simply a delightful way to spend an evening.
Reserve Your Place at the Table
Seating is strictly limited to preserve our intimate, parlor-style atmosphere.
- General Admission ($55 – $60): Includes full Sonny’s BBQ buffet dinner, iced sweet tea, your commemorative take-home Mason jar, and the complete interactive case dossier.
- Preferred / VIP Admission ($75 – $80): Includes priority front-row table seating, first call to the dinner buffet, an investigative case packet with document seals, and a signed copy of Michael Earl Simmons’s published historical crime volume.
[ View 2027 Supper Dates & Reserve Tickets at sweetteamurders.com ]