20 | VIPPensacola.com
story by
Liesel Schmidt |
photos provided by
John Blackie/UWF Historic Trust
Wanna
Trade?
B
ars aren’t generally considered to be worthy of becoming a
museum exhibit, but with the kind of patronage and history
that the iconic Trader Jon’s enjoyed during its fi fty-odd
years as one of Pensacola’s favorite places to get a good drink
and trade a few tales, it’s become precisely that. Now deconstructed
and pieced back together in the TT Wentworth Museum, visitors can
imagine themselves in the bar, a part of the scene “back in the day”
when the man behind the bar—and the namesake himself—poured out
the drinks, the stories, and the charm like only Trader Jon could.
A native of Brooklyn who later tried his hand at owning bars in
south Florida before making his way to Pensacola, Martin “Trader
Jon” Weissman was, in fact, a trader of things, bartering for military
memorabilia and various other oddities in exchange for drinks and
pricing those drinks based on the perceived value of the items on offer.
It was a unique part of his appeal and a key component of
the décor, creating an atmosphere unlike any other as his
collection grew to include more than 10,000 items that
now command a value topping over two million dollars.
In its former life as a working bar, Trader Jon’s claimed
a corner of Palafox Street to welcome one and all—most
notably becoming a watering hole for off-duty Navy pilots
and military personnel who enjoyed the camaraderie and
one-of-a-kind personality of Trader Jon, a lover of all
things aviation whose respect for airmen led him to buy
adjoining space to the bar and open a museum dedicated
to the Blue Angels. Such a collection of items, both in
Trader Jon’s museum and in the bar itself, have become
relics of the past, of course. But even more importantly,
they have become the keepers of tales, treasures with
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