Seville Quarter

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Seville Quarter
Type Nightclub/restaurant
Founded August 1967
Founder Bob Snow
Headquarters 130 East Government Street
Pensacola, FL 32501
Owner Willmer Mitchell
Website www.rosies.com
<googlemap lat="30.409671" lon="-87.213002" zoom="17" width="288" height="288">

30.409639, -87.21301, Seville Quarter </googlemap>

Seville Quarter is an entertainment complex in downtown Pensacola comprised of several "rooms," each with its own theme: Rosie O'Grady's, Lili Marlene's, Fast Eddie's, Apple Annie's, Palace Oyster Bar, Phineas Phogg's, End O'The Alley Bar, and Heritage Hall.

History

Seville Quarter was founded by Bob Snow, a Dixieland trumpet player and former Navy pilot. It opened in the former Pensacola Cigar and Tobacco Company building as "Rosie O'Grady's Warehouse" in August 1967.

Willmer Mitchell, Snow's lawyer and partner, recounted that "Snow's Dixieland band was gaining a good bit of attention, as was his idea of opening a 'beer and peanuts' saloon in what was then an almost derelict area of Pensacola."[1] Mitchell helped Snow get the Citizens & Peoples Bank loan that enabled him to open the nightclub. The first performance was by banjoist Tutti Lockhart playing "Dear One, the World is Waiting for the Sunrise." Snow later joined in to play "The South Rampart Street Parade."[1]

In 1972, Snow began a similar venture in Orlando called Church Street Station, which benefitted greatly from that area's tourism boom. His attentions divided, Snow sold Seville Quarter in 1984 to a group of investors who later defaulted on their payments. Despite doing $4 million in business for the year, the complex was forced to close.

Snow bought it back in 1986, but remained too occupied by Church Street Station and other projects to run the smaller business, so it remained boarded up. He said while seeking a buyer, "The terms are very negotiable … I'm anxious to dump it."[2]

It was finally purchased by Willmer Mitchell in 1988, who now runs the business with his wife and children.

Rooms

Seville Quarter
SevilleQuarter2.jpg

Rosie O'Grady's

Lili Marlene's

Fast Eddie's

Apple Annie's

Palace Oyster Bar

A hallway inside Seville Quarter

Phineas Phogg's

End O'The Alley Bar

Heritage Hall

Heritage Hall

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Happy Birthday ROSIE!" Pensacola News Journal, August 10, 2007.
  2. "Snow sets $3.5 million price for Seville Quarter." Nation's Restaurant News, February 22, 1988.

External links