West Key Bar

The West Key Bar at 506 Fleming Street (just off Duval St.) was a favorite among the working class, back when Duval was a true commercial strip with tire stores, shoe shops and other mom-and-pop businesses. Shrimpers, off-duty waitresses, Navy sailors and average Key West “working stiffs” made the West Key their local favorite – where the drinks were stiff and people still smoked on their bar stools. The story behind the name is the stuff of local legend, though. The owner originally intended to call it the “Whiskey Bar”, and he conveyed this to his Cuban-born sign painter. Unfortunately, the recent immigrant thought he said “West Key” bar. Once all the signs were incorrectly painted, the owner said the hell with it and the name stuck.