The Siesta Key Oyster Bar in Sarasota, Florida took an old fisherman’s tradition and turned it into an act of charity. While the rationale and history of the tradition is not completely clear, people affix dollar bills to the walls and ceilings of drinking establishments along the Florida gulf coast, writing a note or simply signing it. While some say it’s done for luck or as a way to remember a past visit, many believe commercial fishermen who would reclaim their dollar during a bad day of fishing for a drink when they returned.
After being impacted by seeing videos and photographs of the devastation in the Bahamas from Hurricane Dorian weeks ago, the owners and staff of the Siesta Key Oyster Bar have been carefully removing dollars with hurricane survivors on their mind. All in, $13,961 was removed from the bar and donated to the Red Cross for Hurricane Dorian relief.
Another bar off the coast of Florida is also famous for collecting dollars from patrons. At the remote Cabbage Key Inn, accessible only by boat, guests have taped thousands of dollars to the ceilings and walls there. The primary recipient of funds collected there is for AMIkids, a charity that helps “youth develop into responsible and productive citizens” according to their mission statement. Through cash collected on its walls, the bar has been donating $5,000 to $10,000 at a time to charitable endeavors; over the years, Cabbage Key Inn has given more than $100,000 to AMIkids Southwest Florida and has contributed to other charities as well.
