The History of Two Friends

(corner of Front & Ann Streets) According to the Sanborn Maps in the Key West archives, there has been a saloon or bar at the address of Two Friends since before the Great Fire of 1886

In 1941, Barbara Smith was hired by Two Friends and became the FIRST female bartender in Key West! In this photo Barbara is behind the bar at Two Friends alongside her loyal locals no doubt enjoying one of her famous libations.

In 1967 when Dante Capas purchased Two Friends it became the first Bar on the Island to Serve Draft Beer... Your options were Schlitz or Schlitz. Today Wisconsin has over 100 breweries but sorry... you can’t get Schlitz in Key West anymore. Fun Fact-Key West was built by many “rough and tumble” industries like the military, shrimpers, wreckers and others looking to find their fortune on this island.

A lifelong regular at Two Friends, Mel was sitting at the bar the morning he got the call from his son that they were bringing in the first of the large treasure hauls from the Atocha- one of the most valuable finds in US History! The contents of the chests were worth over $450 million! Mel ordered a beer and a short while later watched an old Cadillac with it’s tail pipe dragging down Front St pull up outside of Two Friends with two very large chests in the trunk. The contents of those chests was the first of over $450 million dollars of treasure Mel and his family have rescued from the ocean floor thus far. The chests sat on the bar at Two Friends for over 4 hours as locals stopped by to see for themselves. No guards or security were needed and nothing was taken.