Trader Jon's | |
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![]() Trader Jon's in the 1950s | |
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Restaurant information | |
Established | January 1, 1953 |
Closed | November 9, 2003 |
Street address | 511 South Palafox Street |
City | Pensacola, Florida |
County | Escambia County, Florida |
State | Florida |
Country | United States |
Coordinates | 30°24′26″N87°12′51″W / 30.407101°N 87.214197°W |
Trader Jon's was a bar in Pensacola, Florida which operated from 1953 to 2003. It became famous for its owner, Martin "Trader Jon" Weissman's personal eccentricities, "Tradernomics", and large collection of military memorabilia.
The building that was the location of Trader Jon's was erected in 1896. From the 1890s to the 1950s, it was home to Samuel Charles Shoe and Leather Establishment and Birgar Testman's ship chandlery, as well as being rented out to numerous other businesses. [1] [2]
On January 1, 1953, Martin Weissman founded Trader Jon's with his wife, Jackie Bond. [3] Before opening the bar, Weissman served in the United States Army, training as a paratrooper during World War II, but being discharged after breaking his ankle before his scheduled deployment to Europe. [4] He later operated bars in Miami and Key West before moving to Pensacola. [5]
The bar became famous for its owner, Martin "Trader Jon" Weissman's mismatched socks, personal eccentricities, and practice which became known as "Tradernomics", in which he would give drinks based on his mood and how well he knew the customer. [6] Many celebrities, including John Wayne, Larry King and Prince Andrew, visited the bar. [7] [8]
In September 1997, Weissman suffered a stroke that left him partly paralyzed and with impaired speech. Having never fully recovered, he died at the age of 84 on February 18, 2000. [9] On January 16, 2001, six people were in the bar when customers noticed smoke coming from the Blue Angels Museum room in the bar. Two customers raced over to save as much things as possible from the fire, and the Pensacola Fire Department stopped the fire before it could spread to the rest of the bar. [10] Trader Jon's officially closed on November 9, 2003. [2]
In October 2016, a new exhibit in the Pensacola Museum of History opened, featuring 15 percent of the estimated 10,000 pieces of military memorabilia that make up the Trader Jon collection, which is valued at $2,000,000. [7]
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The West Florida Argonauts football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University of West Florida located in the U.S. state of Florida. The team competes in the NCAA Division II and are members of the Gulf South Conference. West Florida's first football team was fielded in 2016. The team plays its home games at Pen Air Field in Pensacola, Florida. The Argonauts are coached by Kaleb Nobles.
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