Ready for a drink? Bars are reopening in Key West — even as some found a way to survive
You can belly up to the bar again in the Keys.
As part of a statewide reopening order, Monroe County bars are back in business. And bar owners are raising a glass to celebrate.
In hard-drinking Key West, in the middle of Monday, drinks were flowing again at bars that had been shut down under a state order prohibiting the consumption of alcohol on the premises.
“It’s been steady, it’s been a good day,” said Rick Smith, a 20-year resident of Key West who tends bar at the iconic Captain Tony’s Saloon off of Duval Street. “It’s the first day.”
Smith, who wore a face mask that read, “Worn by force, not by fear,” has had a lousy six months, along with many other Key Westers who rely on their bar tips to pay the rent.
“We haven’t been able to work. It’s been terrible,” he said.
Captain Tony’s reopened Monday after a long dry spell. Sloppy Joe’s, another iconic Key West bar, began selling to-go drinks this month. It plans to reopen fully on Thursday.
Even before the state reopening order, some bars got a head start. The legal workaround? They got a restaurant license and hawked snacks along with beer, shots and frozen drinks.
“Just potato chips and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, things like that, just enough so we could be open,” said Casey Vinall, who has owned Tattoos and Scars on Greene Street for nine years.
Vinall was shut down March 17 when Florida doubled down on its restrictions due to the spread of the novel coronavirus.
He reopened June 5 when the state allowed it. But then he had to shutter again June 26 when the state banned people from consuming alcohol at bars.
In August, he started selling to-go drinks only from the Greene Street bar. But last Thursday, Vinall put in a little kitchen area and plunked down money for a restaurant license from the city.
Three hours later, Vinall learned the state was relaxing its order for most of Florida, meaning bars could again serve customers even if they didn’t serve food. Bars remain closed in neighboring Miami-Dade and Broward.
“After I spent all the money and jumped through all the hoops,” Vinall said.
It cost about $4,000 to get Tattoos and Scars food-ready.
“I had to do it, they gave us no option,” Vinall said Monday from inside the bar as blues music blasted and several customers nursed drinks. “Didn’t even have to serve food, just had to be able to serve food.”
The bar business has been reeling since March 17.
“It’s been an absolute nightmare,” Vinall said. “Closed completely for three months. We got open for three weeks. Everything was looking great and they turned around and closed us right back down. It’s just been a huge loss of money. I’m bleeding money.”
The Paycheck Protection Program only went so far, he said.
“By the time we got shut the second time, the money was all gone,” Vinall said. “It was already spent.”
Bar owners like Vinall were willing to spend the money on kitchens and licensing so they could keep their doors open during the state’s bar shutdown.
The June 26 order by the Florida agency that governs bars prohibited the consumption of alcohol on site at bars. Some, like Irish Kevin’s and Shanna Key Irish Pub and Grill, were able to stay open because they already had a food menu.
Others had to close, including the Green Parrot, Captain Tony’s Saloon and Dons’ Place — a popular dive off the beaten path. The Parrot has been selling to-go drinks for the past couple of weeks.
“Please come visit us soon!” Captain Tony’s posted on its Facebook page a few days ago, announcing the Sept. 14 reopening. “You never know when the government is going to change their mind and close us again!”
Some owners said the state’s new order effective Monday was long overdue.
“I’m just glad to be open, because it’s been bad,” said Mark Rossi, who owns a complex of bars in the 200 block of Duval Street, including Rick’s Bar and Durty Harry’s. “It’s been real tough.”
Rossi said he’s lost 10 employees recently but had enough staff to keep the doors open.
“Barely,” Rossi said. “People are leaving town. There’s no money. They can’t afford to pay the rent.”
Rossi obtained a restaurant license about two weeks ago to work around the state’s bar-closing rule. With the new license, bars like Rick’s could open up since they were offering snacks such as Little Debbie snack cakes and “a cupful of peanuts.”
The Parrot didn’t get a food license.
“We just waited for them to open and we did,” said John Vagnoni, who owns the bar with Pat Croce and his family. “People were cheerful and compliant. I think everybody wants to do the right thing.”
The Parrot is known for its busy schedule of live music. But there’s no start date for bands, Vagnoni said.
“Baby steps,” he said. “We want to be careful with social distancing. Maybe we’ll start with a little bit of jazz. You can’t pack the place. We’ll just have to play it by ear.”
Sue Warrell Fowler, of Key West, hit the Parrot with her husband, Norm Fowler, on Monday afternoon.
“We’re just so happy things are a little bit more normal than they have been, and we love the folks at the Parrot,” Fowler said, seated at the bar with a pint of beer. “It’s just nice to see people. A little more normalcy.”
This story was originally published September 14, 2020 at 6:11 PM.
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