Long Before Fame, Jimmy Buffett Loved Hanging Out At This 55-Year-Old Florida Restaurant

If there was a King of Key West, it would be Jimmy Buffett. The notably Hawaiian shirt-clad singer-songwriter is island rock royalty, but before he ruled Margaritaville or ate a cheeseburger in paradise, he was a guy with a guitar and a penchant for hanging out at cool restaurants, including Louie's Backyard, a Key West staple with a long history. 

Jimmy Buffett landed in Key West in November of 1971, and the rest is history. In addition to playing at venues like the Snake Pit, aka the Old Anchor Inn, the Chart Room Bar at the Pier House Motel, and Howie's Lounge, Buffett chowed down at legendary restaurants. Louie's Backyard opened the same year Buffett arrived — 1971 — and quickly became a hang-out spot for the coolest Key West residents. 

Louie's Backyard's address is 700 Waddell Avenue in Key West, and for a while in the '70s, Buffett lived at 704 Waddell, right next door. You better believe there were some unforgettable nights spent at Louie's Backyard, which, when it first opened, boasted just 12 seats and one waiter. In Buffett's 1974 hit, "Trying to Reason With Hurricane Season," he sings, "I knew I could use a Bloody Mary / so I stumbled next door to the bar." While Louie's Backyard isn't exactly name-checked, we can surmise that Buffett spent enough time there that it became a fixture in his life and his art.

After undergoing some major renovations and expansion in 1983, Louie's Backyard was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. It's continued to be a Key West icon to this day, not to mention a stop on many a Jimmy Buffett Key West walking tour. And Buffett wasn't the only legendary figure to frequent Louie's. Before Key West became synonymous with Jimmy Buffett and key lime pie, it was known as a literary haven. People like novelist Tom McGuane and playwright Tennessee Williams used to hang out at Louie's Backyard.

Louie's Backyard and Jimmy Buffett both started showing the world what they had in 1971. His association with the restaurant is just another way in which Jimmy Buffett left his mark on the food world. The fact that both Louie's Backyard and the legacy of Jimmy Buffett are still going strong today says something about how much good food and good music mean to people and about the enduring power of Key West island energy and vibes.