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Welcome
to our piece of Paradise! There isn't a better place to
be than right here! Enjoy our spacious waterfront setting where
the atmosphere is like a trip in a time machine to Our History Throughout
Key West's colorful history the Historic Key West Bight, where the
Conch Republic Seafood Company® now resides, In
1949, found almost by accident, vast beds of succulent pink shrimp
were located just offshore near the Dry Tortugas in the Gulf. As
word of the find spread, hundreds of shrimp boats were soon operating
out of the Bight. At one time there were so many shrimp trawlers
at the docks, you could walk the length of the seawall from one boat
to another without touching the water! The property on which In
the 1990's the property saw some major changes. Dean Rollings, president
of the |
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Conch Republic
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the
way Key West used to be. So, come by to relax, take in the view
of the boats and the water, and let us prepare you one of our mouth-watering
entrees made with only the freshest seafood that our local waters
provide! Then indulge further with one of our delicious refreshing "House
Specialty Libations!"
has
had a tradition of bringing the bounty of the seas ashore. Sponges,
giant sea turtles, shrimp and fish are just a few of the types of
cargo that would pass through the Bight weekly. The location where
the Conch Republic Seafood Company® is now located has it's own
interesting history. In the 1890's "sponging" had grown
to employ hundreds in Key West, both with the fleet and at jobs ashore.
Our present day docks have long ago replaced the large, wide sponge
market docks of the era. This dock was just one of many constructed
to allow the quality of the sponges to be inspected by wholesale
buyers prior to sale at auction. Large "mother ships" would
dock after a few weeks of harvesting and unload their cargoes. The
thousands of sponges bought, sold & traded
were
shipped all over the United States. By the early 1900's, Key West
was considered the Sponge Capital of the Country.
the
Conch Republic Seafood Company® and the Conch Farm Education
Center was once the Singleton Fish House and Ice Plant. The ice plant
once boasted as the largest in the world, allowed for more efficient
unloading and processing of the shrimp catch. Each day, at the peak
of the shrimp season, dozens of shrimp trawlers unloaded at the docks
right behind the Conch Republic Seafood Company®, packed in wooden
crates and iced for shipment. Often in the warehouse, hundreds of
workers stood at long tables in what now serves as the Main Dining
Room of the restaurant, and deftly removed the inedible heads from
the shrimp before packing. The industry remained a lucrative business
in the Bight into the 1980's. 
Florida
Straits Conch Company, presented to the City of Key West a plan to
create a unique, educational, environmentally correct & entertaining
development of this waterfront site. The large warehouse once known
as "Fish House No. 4" has been transformed into the present
day Conch Republic Seafood Company®. The building that housed
the ice plant itself is now the Conch Farm Research and Educational
Foundation, Inc. This education center is a working laboratory and
museum. Integrated into the construction of the restaurant, bar and
education center, materials salvaged from the plant, processing plant
and original docks can be found everywhere. Even the menu received
special attention. It consists of tantalizing Florida and 
Caribbean
Entrees bound to please the most discriminating taste. Fresh seafood
is delivered daily to our docks from the waters surrounding Key West,
continuing the tradition found in the Bight's History. The goal here
is to treat locals and visitors alike to an environmentally concerned
enterprise that not only delights the senses, but teaches as well.
As we move forward into the new millennium, the Conch Republic Seafood
Company® will continue to charm and educate its visitors on our
slice of paradise. 
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