2 Fla. Bars Fight Over Hemingway Legacy
Mon Jul 19, 4:58 PM ET
KEY WEST, Fla. - Two bars are slugging it out in court over the rights to use the name of Ernest Hemingway's old watering hole.
Sloppy Joe's Bar and Captain Tony's Saloon are half a block from each other in Key West, and both claim the author used to drink there.
From 1933 to 1937, Hemingway friend "Sloppy Joe" Russell ran a bar out of a former city morgue, then moved the establishment half a block in 1937. Captain Tony's now occupies the old morgue and has signs identifying it as "The First and Original Sloppy Joe's, 1933-1937."
Sloppy Joe's sued in federal court July 7, accusing Captain Tony's of infringing on its trademark. No hearing date has been set.
"Captain Tony's products are not of Sloppy Joe's quality, and the condition of its premises does not meet Sloppy Joe's standards. As a result, Captain Tony's has sullied Sloppy Joe's distinctive style and decor," Sloppy Joe's owners, who bought the place in 1978, said in the lawsuit.
The owners of Captain Tony's were out of town and unavailable for comment Monday, a bar employee said.
Sloppy Joe's has a "Hemingway Picture Wall" covered with black-and-white photos of the author. Hemingway's fishing rod dangles from the high ceilings. His skis are encased in plexiglass.
Captain Tony's has bras hanging from the low-slung rafters and business cards stapled to the walls. There is a single bust of Hemingway, and a single photograph of the author fishing with Captain Tony Tarracino, a former owner of the bar and one-time mayor.
When asked which bar could claim Hemingway drank there, Monroe County historian Tom Hambright said: "Both, as far as I can determine."
WHAT IS IT WITH FLORIDA?
Mon Jul 19, 4:58 PM ET
KEY WEST, Fla. - Two bars are slugging it out in court over the rights to use the name of Ernest Hemingway's old watering hole.
Sloppy Joe's Bar and Captain Tony's Saloon are half a block from each other in Key West, and both claim the author used to drink there.
From 1933 to 1937, Hemingway friend "Sloppy Joe" Russell ran a bar out of a former city morgue, then moved the establishment half a block in 1937. Captain Tony's now occupies the old morgue and has signs identifying it as "The First and Original Sloppy Joe's, 1933-1937."
Sloppy Joe's sued in federal court July 7, accusing Captain Tony's of infringing on its trademark. No hearing date has been set.
"Captain Tony's products are not of Sloppy Joe's quality, and the condition of its premises does not meet Sloppy Joe's standards. As a result, Captain Tony's has sullied Sloppy Joe's distinctive style and decor," Sloppy Joe's owners, who bought the place in 1978, said in the lawsuit.
The owners of Captain Tony's were out of town and unavailable for comment Monday, a bar employee said.
Sloppy Joe's has a "Hemingway Picture Wall" covered with black-and-white photos of the author. Hemingway's fishing rod dangles from the high ceilings. His skis are encased in plexiglass.
Captain Tony's has bras hanging from the low-slung rafters and business cards stapled to the walls. There is a single bust of Hemingway, and a single photograph of the author fishing with Captain Tony Tarracino, a former owner of the bar and one-time mayor.
When asked which bar could claim Hemingway drank there, Monroe County historian Tom Hambright said: "Both, as far as I can determine."
WHAT IS IT WITH FLORIDA?
VIEW 11 of 11 COMMENTS
tank_ex_mortis:
Aren't I though? 
melladoree:
yep I cannt wait either, these mid-state states, just arent cutting it!