Turner and the Becks: The Birth of Cabbage Key's Famous Dollar Bill Bar
When Larry and Jan Stults sold Cabbage Key in 1969, the island was about to enter one of the most colorful periods in its history.
The buyer was James "Jimmy" Turner, a well-known Southwest Florida yachtsman and entrepreneur sometimes called Florida's "Island Man." Turner already owned neighboring Useppa Island, along with several other island properties. On July 9, 1969, he purchased Cabbage Key from the Stultses for $160,000.
Two people already working with Turner would soon leave an even greater mark on Cabbage Key: Bob and Jo Ann Beck.
The Becks had met Turner while vacationing at his Useppa Island resort. Turner liked the couple so much that he invited them back to work for him, and they eventually managed Useppa while Turner concentrated on Cabbage Key.
In 1971, Turner agreed to sell Cabbage Key to the Becks for $225,000. Bob and Jo Ann sold their Clearwater home to raise the $10,000 down payment. Because financing the purchase remained difficult, they subdivided portions of the island and sold parcels to help make the deal possible.
But perhaps the most consequential part of the transaction cost them just ten dollars.
Turner transferred Useppa's valuable liquor license to the Becks for that token amount, allowing them to open a bar inside the former library of the historic inn.
Almost immediately, someone attached a signed dollar bill to the wall.
Jo Ann's son, Gil Hampton, one of Cabbage Key's first bartenders, remembered seeing the tradition begin but couldn't say with certainty why that first dollar appeared. Some said fishermen left money behind so they would always have enough for a drink on their next visit. Others considered it good luck or simply a way of leaving their name behind.
Whatever the reason, people followed.
One dollar became dozens, dozens became hundreds, and eventually thousands of signed bills covered the walls and ceilings. During the Beck years, Cabbage Key evolved from a quiet island inn into an increasingly popular destination for fishermen, boaters and adventurous travelers.
Jo Ann encouraged employees to treat customers not simply as paying guests, but as friends visiting their island home. That informal hospitality helped create the personality for which Cabbage Key would become famous.
The Becks sold Cabbage Key to Robert and Phyllis Wells in 1976, but the tradition they started remained.
Over the following decades, the little island bar attracted visitors from around the world—including Jimmy Buffett, whose signed dollar eventually earned a place of honor above the bar.
The Becks owned Cabbage Key for only a few years, but their legacy is impossible to miss.
Every signed dollar hanging from the walls today is part of the tradition that began during their remarkable time on the island.