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Sloppy Joe's

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Green Street façade of Sloppy Joe's Bar

Sloppy Joe's is a bar in Key West, Florida, United States. Founded on December 5, 1933, its most famous and regular patron was Ernest Hemingway. It is now located on the north side of Duval Street at the corner of Greene Street, (201 Duval Street, GPS +24.55907 -081.80526). The original location at the time Hemingway frequented Slopppy Joe's is further north, just off Duval Street, at 428 Green Street, and is now called "Captain Tony's".

The bar went through two name changes before settling on Sloppy Joe's with the encouragement of Hemingway. The name was adopted from a Havana nightclub that sold both liquor and iced seafood. In the Cuban heat, the ice melted and patrons taunted the owner José (Joe) García Río that he ran a "sloppy" place. And, there's more to the name changing story. Besides Hemingway, there were other media types, including Walter Winchel, who frequented the place. The owner was concerned about the bar tabs which were skyrocketing. The newspaper guys were too slow in paying up and so Joe decided to cut off credit at the bar until things normalized. The story goes that Winchel got upset and threatened to write a less than flattering review in the New York Times, which he did, refering to the place as "sloppy".

The Silver Slipper dance hall adjacent to Sloppy Joe's, painted in the 1930s by Waldo Peirce

The bar is the site of the Ernest Hemingway look-alike contest, started in 1981. It is well known as a tourist attraction, with live bands and slushy drinks.