Tobacco Road (bar)
The Tobacco Road was a bar in the Brickell area of Downtown Miami, Florida. It was popularly known as the oldest bar in the city.[1] The liquor license it amended was first issued in November 1912 (though property records show the building as being built in 1915,[2] as a bakery)[3][4] and operated nearly continuously since its opening, having been shut down briefly at times for run-ins with the law, such as when the upstairs, now a live music venue, was used as a speakeasy during Prohibition.[3] Tobacco Road was located at 626 South Miami Avenue, on the south side of the Miami River, putting it in Miami's Brickell district, where it was classified as a classic dive bar, being popular among locals. Tobacco Road celebrated its 100th anniversary in November 2012. In 2012, the land on which Tobacco Road lies was purchased for $12.5 million. On October 26, 2014, Tobacco Road closed and was demolished by Thunder Demolition Inc. An estimated 4,000 people came on its last night.
Sale and closure[edit]
In April 2012, developer Carlos Mattos purchased the large lot which included Tobacco Road, though it was stated that Tobacco Road had a three-year lease and could remain open for at least that long before the lot was developed.[1][5] In 2014, the bar's owners announced that they were planning on selling the bar to its employees,[6] regardless of whether or not demolition was imminent, and relocating to another building nearby.[7] The bar closed on the morning of October 26 with plans to relocate to another building in the same block.[8] In October 2015, Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Escape began service from PortMiami, with the ship including a bar named "Tobacco Road", which was "reimagined as a fancy cigar bar".[9]
Gallery[edit]
-
Tobacco Road in 2011 painted pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month -
Back to its more traditional color in 2012 -
Demolition in 2014, one year before building would have turned 100
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Tobacco Road's Three Year Lease May Mark The Closure Of Miami's Oldest Bar". WFOR-TV. May 11, 2012. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
- ^ "626 South Miami Avenue, Miami, FL 33130". PropertyShark. 2014. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
- ^ a b Piket, Casey (June 29, 2014). "Tobacco Road – From Bakery, Speakeasy to Miami City Landmark". Miami History (blog). Retrieved August 20, 2014.
- ^ "Tobacco Road". Tobacco Road. 2013. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
- ^ Walker, Elaine (May 10, 2012). "Tobacco Road to stay open for at least three years despite land sale". The Miami Herald. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
- ^ Bevan, Shaun (April 25, 2014). "Economic Development: Tobacco Road staffers may turn to crowdfunding to buy bar". South Florida Business Journal. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
- ^ S. Pajot (April 8, 2014). "Tobacco Road Planning to Sell and Relocate". Miami New Times (blog). Retrieved August 19, 2014.
- ^ Viglucci, Andres (October 24, 2014). "Last call for legendary bar Tobacco Road". Miami Herald. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
- ^ Doss, Laine (13 November 2015). "Norwegian Escape Drinking at Sea: Pitbull, Tobacco Road, Bar Lab, and Wynwood Brewing". Miami New Times.
- "Tobacco Road's Last Call Ever: Closing Night at Miami's Oldest Bar" new times Oct. 26 2014