The year 1964 at the time my grandfather Captain Tony was known as that mob guy from New Jersey he came to that little crazy island to hide out in 1947 between the time he arrived till 1964 he bought a bunch of private charter boats two of them were 65 footers one of them was for smuggling guns rum and spies in and out of Cuba that’s right he worked for the CIA he was a pretty wild guy back then even ran for mayor which he eventually became in the late 80s but what really put them on the map was buying the original Hemingway bar The oldest bar in Key West that’s another whole story that’s going to be chapter 9 in our book when he first took it over the bar it was off-limits to the Navy because of gambling prostitution drugs and some pretty wild gays that hung out there The bar had a great stage they had some pretty wild shows drag shows some after our shows, upstairs on top of the bar gambling prostitution this building was one of the oldest in Key West it was a Morg, icehouse, telegraph Company, and a couple other bars there was even a tree in the back where are they hung people and what was really famous about it it was the original Hemingway bar that’s where Hemingway drank a lot after his key west fishing trips don’t get It mistaken for the bar down the street sloppy Joe’s we are the original one that case was one in court first time I went to the bar was 1969 it was wild back then I was fortunate to start working for my grandfather in 1976 through 1983 about that time I had to get out of Dodge if you look on the far left of both photos you will see one has a patio and one has a little extension that used to be Bob’s Burgers factory that’s why Jimmy wrote the song cheeseburger in Paradise they were the best burgers in Key West back in the 60s and early 70s I took it over in 82 and made the shrimp patio Shrimp and lobster eggrolls were my specialty we have so many stories for our book coming out of that bar I miss that old pirate