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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]].
==Origins==
Trader Jon's was founded by [[Martin "Trader Jon" Weissman]] and his wife [[Jackii Weissman|Jackii]] on [[January 1]], [[1953]]. The bar's location at 511 South [[Palafox Street]] (now known as the [[Trader Jon's building]]) dates back to [[1896]] and was previously occupied by such tenants as [[Samuel Charles]]'s shoe repair shop and [[Birgar Testman]]'s ship chandlery.
==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. He was known for wearing mismatched socks and gave free drinks to patrons who caught him in a matching pair. He also exchanged drinks for bits of Navy memorabilia, which led to the bar's signature collection.
[[Image:TJs.jpg|thumb|right|"TJ's" in ''An Officer and a Gentleman'']]
Trader Jon's was the basis of the fictional club "TJ's" in the [[1982]] film ''[[Wikipedia:An Officer and a Gentleman|An Officer and a Gentleman]]'', which was inspired by the [[Officer Candidacy School]] at [[NAS Pensacola]].
==Changing hands==
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]]. Navy flight instructor [[Matt Heckemeyer]] and his wife [[Kerry Heckemeyer|Kerry]] purchased the bar 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 — what would have been Weissman's 85th birthday.
==Closure & legacy==
The bar closed for good on [[November 8]], [[2003]]. The building was sold to [[Sarah Brown|Sarah]] and [[Walter Brown]], who planned to expand their retail clothing store [[Sarah's]] into the space, but these plans were scrapped after [[Hurricane Ivan]] destroyed the adjacent [[Phenix Building]]. 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]].
==Other images==<gallery heights=150px>Image:TraderJonStatue.jpg|A wooden statue of Weissman that greeted visitorsImage:TraderJonsHeckemeyers.jpg|Kerry and Matt Heckemeyer at work</gallery> ==References=={{navy-stubreflist}}
[[Category:Bars & nightclubs]]
[[Category:Defunct businesses]]
[[Category:Navy traditions]]
