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[[Image:TraderJonsDoorSign.jpg|thumb|right|180px|The [[Palafox Street]] entrance to Trader Jon's and historical marker, since taken.]]
'''Trader Jon's''' was a bar in [[downtown Pensacola]] that was a popular destination for officers and aviators stationed at [[Naval Air Station Pensacola]].
==Naval hangout==
[[Image:TraderJonWall.jpg|thumb|left|180px|Trader Jon Weissman by a wall of Navy photographs]]
The bar was widely known for the eccentricities of its owner. Weissman did not set prices for drinks; rather, they varied depending on his mood and how well he knew the customer. This practice was often referred to as "Tradernomics." He was known for wearing mismatched socks and offered a reward to any patron who caught him in a matching pair. He also exchanged drinks for bits of Navy memorabilia, which led to the bar's signature collection and helped reinforce his "Trader" moniker.
[[Image:TJs.jpg|thumb|right|"TJ's" in ''An Officer and a Gentleman'']]
Among the celebrities to visit Trader Jon's were [[Wikipedia:Prince Andrew, Duke of York|Prince Andrew]], [[Wikipedia:John Wayne|John Wayne]], [[Wikipedia:Elizabeth Taylor|Elizabeth Taylor]] and [[Wikipedia:Bob Hope|Bob Hope]]. In May [[1986]], Weissman was featured in Hope's birthday special, taped aboard the [[USS Lexington|USS ''Lexington'']].
In November March [[1991]], two 19-year-old women, [[Cary Higgins]] and [[Tonya Corrado]], were killed in an car accident after drinking at Trader Jon's. Then son in-law, Steve Hammill was serving the two young women through out the night. Higgins, and Corrado were both frequent customers and were given permission to enter underage from Weissman himself knowing the girls were not of age, as Cary Higgins had once worked as his employee and was known by the other employees. Cary Higgins was the only daughter of a Naval Officer. She was also survived by her Mother, brother, and her young daughter. In July [[1992]], Weissman was fined $1,000 by the Florida Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco for serving alcohol to the underage women, and the bar closes for 18 days. In December [[1995]] Weissman settled a lawsuit with the families of the two women for an undisclosed amount.
The [[Trader Jon's building]] was designated an historic site by the State of Florida in [[1992]].
Trader Jon's closed in [[1998]], a year after Weissman suffered a debilitating stroke that kept him from work; he died on [[February 18]], [[2000]]. A group called the "Trader Jon's Preservation Squadron," led by former [[Blue Angels]] leader [[Bob Stumpf]] and Marine Corps Major Kent Bolin, raised $300,000 to preserve the bar and its contents as a restaurant and a kind of museum. Their purchase offer was rejected by Weissman's family, who wanted to see the club remain open.<ref>"[http://mysite.verizon.net/pitcairnsquadron/newjons.htm Navy pilot, wife plan to reopen historic 'Trader Jon's aviators' pub]." Associated Press, August 10, 2000.</ref>
Navy flight instructor [[Matt Heckemeyer]] and his wife [[Kerry Heckemeyer|Kerry]] purchased the business for $465,000 on [[August 8]], [[2000]]. After spending an estimated $150,000 on renovations, they reopened the bar on [[September 1]] of that year â — what would have been Weissman's 85th birthday.
The Heckemeyer's hired [[Mientje Green]] as the general manager. Green had previously managed the famous [[Wikipedia:Tipitina's|Tipitina's]] club in New Orleans with her husband Jim. They planned to cater to a wider clientele by making Trader Jon's a live music venue. ""We're thinking about blues, Cajun, zydeco, jazz,'' Green said. "We want to give the people something different and something they'll support.''<ref>"Trader Jon's back in business." ''Pensacola News Journal'', August 31, 2000.</ref>
==Closure & legacy==
The bar closed for good on [[November 9]], [[2003]]. Matt Heckemeyer, whose wife who had divorced him from his wife since buying the bar, was at a loss to pinpoint the exact reason why the bar went under; however, however many in the Navy Community, who saw Trader Jon's in its heyday, suspected it had "a lot to do with the changing environment" of a Navy that frowned upon excessive drinking.<ref name="partyends">"Last call at historic downtown watering hole." ''Pensacola News Journal'', November 5, 2003.</ref>
The [[Trader Jon's building]] was sold for $562,500<ref>[http://www.escpa.org/details.asp?qAcctNum=154347200 Property appraiser's record]</ref> to [[Sarah Brown|Sarah]] and [[Walter Brown]], who planned to expand their women's boutique [[Sarah's]] into the space â — months before [[Hurricane Ivan]] destroyed the store's main location in the adjacent [[Phenix Building]] â — but these plans were later scrapped.
The collection of Navy memorabilia, appraised at approximately $2 million, was purchased by law firm [[Aylstock Witkin & Sasser]] and donated to the [[Naval Aviation Museum Foundation]]. It will be featured in the [[Admiral John H. Fetterman State of Florida Maritime Museum and Research Center]]. Before his death, [[Admiral Fetterman]] stated his desire to see the "Trader Jon's" name return in the form of the museum's restaurant.
