BY MANDY BOLEN
Citizen Staff
Concern and controversy has
rocked the usually alcohol-sedated
crowd that fills the Chart Room Bar
nightly.
Two bartenders were fired within
the past two weeks, and one left six
weeks ago in frustration.
“Every time they would try to do
something nice for the bar or for the
customers, they’d get shot down by the
management,” said Jean Thornton, a
longtime patron who shared drinks
and treasure salvaging stories with
the late Mel Fisher at the hole-in-thewall
bar that turns 40 next month.
The ancient emerald around her
neck catches what dim light is available
in the Chart Room, and people
still gather around to hear a good
story, even ones they know by heart.
But the good-natured crowd that
remembers a different Key West is
worried.
Change could be on the way, and
it may not bode well for the bar that
was Jimmy Buffett’s first Key West
stage, and one of many that supported
the gin-soaked leanings of
Tennessee Williams.
The regulars are hearing rumblings
that the bar’s days are numbered to
make way for a coffee shop, boutique
or sunglass shop.
Managers of the Pier House Resort
%26amp; Caribbean Spa, which houses the
Chart Room, have not confirmed
nor denied the rumors, and General
Manager Joy Smatt did not return
calls from The Citizen seeking comment.
Regulars at The Chart Room Bar fear the 40-year-old establishment may close.
The dedicated crowd of
Chart Room supporters is rallying.
Volunteers are circulating
a petition that doubles as
a letter to Smatt in support of
the bar that already boasts 200
signatures.
“The Chart Room Bar is a
truly unique and special part of
Key West’s charm and history
and is an enormous asset to
the Pier House Resort, and yet
it appears that current management
has been trying to do
everything possible to drive
Chart Room customers away
and find a reason to close it
down,” the letter states.
Housed in what used to be a
standard hotel room, the Chart
Room’s dim lights and dark
wood interior force the eyes to
adjust upon entry. The shadowy
figures eventually become
familiar faces. The giant peanut
barrel is to the right. The shells
go on the floor.
The hot dogs are just beyond
that, twisting on their metal
rods. But even the hot dogs
are in jeopardy. After the resort
stopped paying for the hot
dogs, the former bartenders
provided them, Thornton said.
One bartender made an outdoor
seating area for guests
who did not relish secondhand
smoke. But management said
that had to go, Thornton said.
“It’s just such a neat, friendly
place, and so many things have
already been swept away by
development,” she said. “We’re
just trying to get recognition
and support from the administration
to realize how important
this place is.”
And the support is not a
newfound sentiment. In 1998,
on the eve of the Chart Room’s
30th birthday, Rosie von Engel
summed up her nostalgia for
the dark carnival in a Solares
Hill tribute:
We have seen more than we
ever wanted of the paving of
paradise. Put up that parking
lot and you’ll end up looking
at pictures of places you wish
were still there, times you’d give
anything not to have lost.
We are the keepers who protect
the heart. Truly, with no
need to boast, the Chart Room is
one of the last pieces of the soul
of Key West. Pray she still exists
the next time you need her.
To sign the petition, e-mail
kwchartroom@hotmail.com
Article in today's paper about The Chart Room Bar
opps !! Sorry Arnie, I didn%26#39;t see your post 1st before I posted the same thing.
I%26#39;ve signed it and hope everyone here on TA does the same thing.:)
Article in today's paper about The Chart Room Bar
I signed it too. I hope everyone does.
Man, what idiots...some corporate honcho would rather sell sunglasses than let a revered piece of KW history (AND a fun bar) go. The Fort Lauderdalisation of KW continues.
PS
I think everyone should make a concerted effort to hit the Chart Room, especially en masse. Say, on a weekly basis.
And yet, they%26#39;re hiring for the Chart Room.
I could only dream that if ever a rumor forms about my bosses wanting to close our bar, that it causes such anguish within the community that petitons get formed and signed, and it makes the front page of the Sunday paper!
And then gets blogged about all over the internet.
In other news, newly unemployeed bartender Dave Crooks is looking for a job. Snatch him up as quickly as you can.
Al Nelson
Unfreakinbelievable! As someone who only gets to KW twice a year, it%26#39;s painful to watch the corporate erosion of our favorite island. It seems so much more pronounced when you%26#39;re not there on a daily basis. I%26#39;m just praying that the next time I walk through the Pier House and go through those doors, I%26#39;m not greeted by some teenager hawking oakleys and lattes! Thanks for the info Arnie.
Sadly, alot of old Key West is being destroyed by bits and pieces (all in the name of progress, of course). That being said, get to Key West and experience what%26#39;s still left.
I am really curious how this will play out. The Chart Room has so much history behind it and its a cool little bar. Last month when I was in Key West I visited it and the bartender showed me a list of all the people who have bartended there over the years. I was surprised how many ';famous'; locals poured a drink or two in that fine establishment.
I say we go down for a drink Arnie when I%26#39;m in town next=)
