This is our first menu, at this time a fish sandwich cost $1.50. A conch dinner sold for $3.95.
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1990
This was taken pretty early in our years here. I think probably 1983-84. The Bouganvilla bushes were beautiful when in bloom,but had long thorns that would reach out and grab everybody! They also grew about a foot a week, which made keeping them cut back a full time job. When the bushes kept getting cut back, they quit blooming, we decided that you could see us better without them and away they went.
Flyer from the fudge shop.
After Andrew, 1995
2001
This was taken in 1976, the year we moved to the keys. The booth addition was added in 1980. We started running "The Conch" in April, 1983. Notice the Mahagony tree, the power pole, and the picnic tables. They are some of the many items still here today.
Our time at Key Largos' Crack'd Conch
started on April 6, 1983.
The actual Building was built in the 1930s, just a one room Fishing Camp. at some point in the 1950's it became a restaurant, called "Australian Fried Chicken", (I guess those folks were way ahead of their time). In the 1960's it became "LaCroix's", then "LaCroix's Cracked Conch", then "Key Largos' Cracked Conch". Each of these "conchs" was run by a family, many who are still in this area, or have descendents, here today.
Our family moved from Chicago to the Florida Keys (Key West) during 1976. Levi and Doris opened a small candy shop, in Key Lime Square on Duval Street. They ran this until 1979, at that point in Key West commercial rents were skyrocketing. A candy store could not pull in enough revenue. So they moved to Key Largo and opened a shop, right across the street from the Crack'd Conch. Business was good, but the landlords were not. At that time in Key Largo, there were not many other buildings to rent, so they closed the shop in early 1980.
My Brother (Cliff), and I were still in Key West, just a bit longer, we both moved to Key Largo in 1980.
Key Largo had may trees when we arrived, but was changing quickly, new buildings were going up regularly. The new water pipe was being installed and the highway was being widened. The stretch was made much safer, repaved, and reflectors added. We all decided to keep an eye out for a restaurant to rent. When the "Conch" came up for rent, the owner gave us 1 hour to make up our minds. Cliff had plans to go to Alaska the next week and had already given notice at his job (the Pilot House), Doris was unemployed, Levi was working at Winn Dixie, and I was working at Gilberts. Our decision ..."yes", We were open 2 days later.
We sat doing nothing for a week, (Mon-Fri) and then came Saturday, and it went Crazy! Same on Sunday! At that time we did not have waitress service, I can remember my Dad telling customers to go have a seat, take a nap, we'll wake you when it's ready! Then back to Monday, and we sat....doing nothing...and so it went for a while.*
*We eventually built the business up to include the rest of the week, and were able to leave behind our other jobs.
Cliffs' past employers were quite upset when he opened a competing restaurant(instead of going to Alaska). This did provide some comic relief over those very lean times. BACK
Key Largos'
CRACK'D CONCH
1990s
_________________________
Where the 80s had been a serene dream (laidback, comic, exciting, happy), nothing in the 80s had prepared us for the '90s. The '90s had been some of the best and worst years here, there had not been a dull moment since they started, just a constant moving and changing. Some planned and some not. There were times that you just wanted to hide, and times you couldn't get enough. The proverbial roller coaster of life did not stop long enough to get off and take any breaks.
I guess, more than anything it was the weather...
1990 was a very good year. 1991 was even better. 1992, was breaking all the records, and the summer season had been especially good. Out in the Atlantic there was a storm called Andrew.
Living in the keys since 1976, we had evacuated, quite a few times, but nthis storm was looking bad. As we never with the fear that Andrew caused. The further north we got, the more Andrew strengthened. When Hurricane Andrew hit in August 24, 1992, we were sitting in a brothel in central Florida (the only rooms available). Watching the red dot drive over the tip of Florida. That was a bit much! The ride home to check things out was agony.
We survived, the restaurant survived, but would the business? That question was answered a week later when people started flooding into Key Largo. We were the closest destination to the devastation. It was the best year ever!
Most of our repair work from Andrew was minor and not even started until a year later when we finally got the time to get to it.
The following years more than made up for the good year, So much money in South Florida was going to repair work that our summer season dwindled. It took 5-6 years to come even close to the business we had been doing prior to Andrew. That was just in time for Hurricane George to hit, which had a minor on Key Largo, but did affect the mid and lower Keys quite a bit. Which of course, kept people away for a time.
This time also passed, and then it was on to the tornadoes of Hurricane Mitch.
Hurricane Mitch had wreaked havoc on Honduras, weakened and then turned and headed right for south Florida. His center actually crossed over Naples, Fl. but Key Largo was host to several tornados (I think 10). At 6:04 p.m. on November 4, 1998 they hit. It was a Wednesday (our day off). They hit Cliffs house, my house, and the restaurant! It took Cliff the rest of the evening to clear his house of trees, Our house, took the whole next day to clear a path, and the restaurant, took 2 days to clear a path.
This was just the beginning, and there was much more damage, the houses, both needed roofs. The restaurant, again a slew of minor damage mounting into thousands of dollars, which was not covered by insurance for one reason or another. I think the trees that covered it protected it from major damage.
The New Millenium
It is a new millenium, and already the stories are piling up...we are looking forward to seeing you here soon, in the year 2010 I will update this history !
Funny thing, we had just completed a new roof on the restaurant the week before Andrew hit, and... we had just completed another section of roof just a week before the tornados hit!
Bad news... as of today, we need another section of roof to be done, (I am not looking forward to this, and the employees are wondering why I have not had this fixed.) BACK
