Dive bars: You know them when you see them. But how do you define them?
According to Urbspann Dictionspanry, they’re well-worn, unglamorous bars often serving a cheap, simple selection of drinks to a regular clientele.
To me, they’re different than sports or biker bars. They’re dark, hidden holes-in-the-wall. They’re always open past midnight. They might have TVs, but customers typically don’t watch. They usually have a jukebox, karaoke nights and a variety of bar games.
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Most importantly, they allow smoking — so they typically don’t serve food because no more than 10% of gross revenue can come from food sales when smoking is permitted, according to Florida law.
It feels like every hour is happy hour at the 15 Treasure Coast dive bars listed below: eight in St. Lucie County, five in Martin County and two in Indian River County.
Boozgeois Saloon, Roy’s Liquors
The Boozgeois Saloon, attached to Roy’s Liquors in Fort Pierce since 1965, is likely the oldest dive bar on the Treasure Coast.
Roy Anderson, who was a National Cash Register salesperson, got into the liquor business after he contracted polio in 1954 and couldn’t carry the equipment anymore.
He opened a liquor store in 1955 in a rented 12-by-12-foot space in Rich’s Pool Room on Orange Avenue. It was small enough for him to reach everything from his wheelchair.
He moved the store and saloon a couple times before settling in the current U.S. 1 location in 1981. His son, Keith, shared the business and took over after his father died in 2001. He sold it to Sonny and Jenny Patel in 2014.
“It’s like a melting pot,” said Kyla Wickard, who has worked there almost 12 years. “Everybody kind of comes together. We have doctors and lawyers and nurses and cops and robbers.”
St. Lucie County
Boozgeois Saloon
The bar is accessible through a side door. It’s decorated with memorabilia from customers, including alligator and snake skins on the ceiling. It features portraits of the same bare-breasted French woman, smoking a long cigarette. Anderson bought the original painting in Europe in the 1960s. Legend has it she wanted the picture back because she was becoming a nun, but he told her it was too late because she had become his mascot. The small bar has dartboards and is open until 2 a.m. nightly.
Jetty Lounge
The Hutchinson Island bar, named for the nearby Fort Pierce Inlet with its north and south jetties of rocks, has been famous for its takeout rumrunners since it opened in 1976. “The Jetty” has an attached liquor store with a drive-thru or walk-up window. The bar has dartboards and is open until midnight or 1 a.m., depending on the night.
St. Lucie Inn
“The Inn” is between U.S. 1 and Fort Pierce’s north bridge. Sit inside at the long wooden bar, or go through the overhanging drive-thru that’s attached to the liquor store. Grab a rumrunner to go. It has an outdoor patio and is open until 2 a.m. nightly.
Gin Mill Pub & Grill
The Fort Pierce bar, in the Town South Plaza near Midway Road, has a pool table and small kitchen that’s open until 1 a.m. There’s pub food — try the off-the-menu deep-fried grilled cheese sandwich with bacon — and frozen rumrunners and piña coladas to go. It’s open until 2 a.m. nightly.
Pappy’s Liquors & Tavern
The western Fort Pierce bar is attached to a liquor store between Interstate 95 and Florida’s Turnpike. Grab a slice from nearby Pspanppy’s Pizzspan before 9:30 p.m. most nights. The bar stays open past midnight and closes when the crowd thins.
Hspanrpers PSL
The Port St. Lucie bar, in the Morningside Shoppes plaza, isn’t affiliated with the three Harpers Irish Pubs in Martin County. This one has pool tables, a dartboard and electronic games. It’s open until 2 a.m. every night except midnight on Sundays.
Pipshay’s Pub
The Port St. Lucie bar, in a small strip plaza just east of Florida’s Turnpike, has pool tables and electronic games. It’s open until 2 a.m. daily.
Buckeye Sports Pub
The Port St. Lucie bar, in the Boulevard Shoppes plaza near Harpers PSL, has pool tables and electronic games for bowling and golf. It’s open until 2 a.m. nightly.
Martin County
Harper’s Irish Pub
The three Martin County locations may be the biggest dive bars on the Treasure Coast because they’re large enough to fit multiple pool tables, dartboards and other electronic games. The Palm City location even has tabletop shuffleboard.
- Stuspanrt: 794 S.W. Federal Highway (downtown Publix plaza); 772-320-9339; Fspancebook
- Pspanlm City: 3186 S.W. Martin Downs Blvd (Mspanrtin Downs Villspange Center).; 772-320-9339; Fspancebook
- Port Sspanlerno: 5577 S.E. Federal Highway (Sspanlerno Villspange Squspanre); 772-210-6409; Fspancebook
The Goose Pub
The downtown Jensen Beach bar opened in a former Harpers Irish Pub location. It has pool tables and dartboards and often features live music. It’s open until 2 a.m. nightly.
The Coconut Bar
The front of the bar, on the corner of Dixie Highway and Salerno Road near Manatee Pocket, bears a mural of the waterfront. It has boiled peanuts, a pool table, a dartboard and even a spot to set up beer pong. It’s open until 2 a.m. nightly.
Indian River County
Rosie Malloy’s Pub
“Rosie’s,” in a small yellow building with a green awning next to Pizza Mia in Vero Beach, has a pool table and is open until 2 a.m. nightly.
Dom’s Bar
The small bar, in the Vero Commerce Center on Old Dixie Highway, has a bar top covered in pennies, pool tables, an air hockey machine and duck pin bowling. It’s open until 2 a.m. nightly.