REAL ESTATE WATCH: Iconic Alabama Jack’s Property Listed for Sale in Key Largo
Waterfront restaurant landmark hits market for $4.9 million as Key West broker Curtis Skomp seeks buyer for nearly century-old Keys institution
KEY LARGO, Fla. — The waterfront property that has housed Alabama Jack’s, one of the Florida Keys’ most recognized restaurants, is officially on the market, according to a listing on BizBuySell. The sale offers a buyer the chance to take over one of South Florida’s most photographed roadside institutions, a low-slung, open-air bar and restaurant that has anchored the edge of Card Sound for nearly 80 years.
The Listing
The offering covers two parcels totaling 41,602 square feet, or nearly an acre, along Card Sound Road, and includes more than 360 linear feet of boat docks with direct boating access. The property sits at 58000 Card Sound Rd. and includes a 7,026-square-foot restaurant building on the combined lot. Marketing materials bill the sale as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to own the iconic establishment, emphasizing the site’s rare mix of history, waterfront access and built-in name recognition.
The asking price has been listed at $4.9 million, a reduction from an earlier $6 million ask, according to listing data. Property listings for the site have circulated across multiple commercial real estate platforms, including BizBuySell, BizQuest and Curtis Skomp’s own Florida Keys Commercial site, underscoring the broad marketing push behind the sale. The listing is specifically for the real estate, positioning it as a real estate-only offering rather than a bundled business-and-property sale, though the restaurant’s brand and legacy remain central to the pitch.
Curtis Skomp, CCIM, a broker-owner with RE/MAX All Keys Real Estate, is the listing agent handling the sale. Skomp has more than 30 years of experience in commercial real estate and business brokering across the Florida Keys, with offices in Key West, Key Largo and Miami. He has built a reputation locally for handling high-profile hospitality transactions, including the recent $9 million sale of Snappers restaurant in Key Largo, a deal that included a full liquor license for 250 seats. That track record adds weight to the marketing of Alabama Jack’s as another trophy hospitality asset in the Keys.
A Keys Institution
Alabama Jack’s has operated at the site since 1947, sitting just before the Card Sound Road toll booth in what was once the small fishing outpost of Card Sound. The restaurant takes its name from Jack Stratham, a Georgia native nicknamed “Alabama Jack,” who leased the property with his wife Alice after World War II. Alice’s crab cakes reportedly helped build the restaurant’s early reputation, and the outpost has since evolved through at least two rebuilt versions, with local historians noting the current structure represents the third iteration of the business dating back to 1953.
The open-air bar and restaurant is best known today for its conch fritters, margaritas and live music, with the house band “The Card Sound Machine” performing weekends starting around 2 p.m.. The spot draws a steady mix of bikers, retirees, boaters and day-trippers making the scenic drive down from Miami via Card Sound Road, an alternate route into the Keys that bypasses the more congested Highway 1. Its walls are famously covered in license plates, stickers and decades of visitor memorabilia, giving the interior a lived-in, dive-bar character that regulars say is part of its enduring charm.[2][13]
What’s Next
No closing date or buyer has been announced, and the listing remains active as of early August, according to current market data. Any sale would mark a significant transition for a business that has become as much a Florida Keys landmark as a functioning restaurant, raising questions locally about whether a new owner would preserve its rustic character or pursue redevelopment given the site’s waterfront acreage and dock access. For now, the property remains open and operating under its current ownership while the sale process continues.