DESTINATION Florida Keys, Home to 6,000 Patch Reefs Just Add Water A Slice of Key Largo History Sanctuaries, Parks and Refuges Surrounding Key Largo and The Florida Keys Tips to Protect Yourself from Illegal Vacation Rentals & Scams Come to Key Largo and the Fabulous Florida Keys Cover Photo — Meet Nada Khalaf-Jones our Featured Photographer C 2020-2021 C SNOOKS BAYSIDE restaurant & grand tiki bar • key largo, florida Stunning Setting Spectacular Sunsets Daily Music Local Fish Prime Steaks Call For Info About Our Polynesian Luau Events! 305-453-5004 • www.snooks.com • Key Largo MM 99.8 Southbound Lane at Traffic Light & Down Our Private Drive PhotoRECOMMENDED by David Kay 2 Destination Key Largo WELCOME TO Photo by David Kay As you approach the first of the Florida Keys, prepare for an incredible sight – Key Advertisers Index Page Largo, the Atlantic Ocean and Florida Bay from the top of the Jewfish Creek Bridge, soaring 65 feet above the water. Welcome to the island of Key Largo, your first key in American Caribbean Real Estate-Christie’s International Real Estate 35 paradise where you can kick off your shoes and leave the cares of the world behind. Barbara Eads Realty, Inc. 10 The draw has always been the sea – its beauty and its bounty sounding the Barefeet Rentals 9 siren song. Clear waters beckon you to explore the only living coral reefs in the Bay Harbor Lodge 51 continental U.S. at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. Bayside Inn Key Largo 37 In 2020 Pennekamp, the first underwater park in the United States, is celebrating CenterState Bank 10 their 60th anniversary. Be sure to check out their 30,000-gallon saltwater aquarium. Charter Pest Control 9 Scuba diving and snorkeling the fragile reef reveals a Technicolor explosion Dolphin Point Villas 19 of tropical fish and calming coral “gardens”. Visitors flock to the Christ of the Deep Dolphins Plus 31 statue, which resides north of the 510-foot U.S.S. Spiegel Grove artificial reef. Dolphins Plus Marine Mammal Responder 24 For fishermen, nothing beats the rewards of a day spent hooking snapper, Everyone Loves a Gentle Dentist 12 grouper, and amberjack or landing tarpon or one of the area’s gray ghosts – the Florida Keys Electric Co-op 51 elusive bonefish, found on the shallow-water flats. Florida Keys History & Discovery Center 25 Watersports abound for the adrenaline enthusiast and nature lover alike – rent History of Diving Museum 40 a Jet Ski or a kayak and chart your own course. Or leave the “driving” to any of Island Smoke Shop 12 our qualified eco-tour operators, who can show you manatees, brilliant roseate Jimmy Johnson’s Big Chill 23 spoonbills as they roost and soar overhead, pods of playful wild dolphins and more. Key Largo Chocolates & Ice Cream 29 For Land-based enchantment, nature trails at Pennekamp Park and Everglades Key Largo Conch House 47 National Park offer a glimpse into South Florida’s unique hammock and marshland Key Largo Fisheries 35 ecosystems. Key Largo Princess Center Fold When night comes, island living means dining on fresh-caught seafood at a Mariners Hospital 23 waterfront restaurant and then relaxing to the sounds of waves lapping softly at the Mobil Apps 24 shore or enjoying live entertainment at area venues. But don’t worry about a dress Mrs. Mac’s Kitchen 1 37 code – Key Largo is laid back and casual, even at its most formal. However, if the Rock Reef Resort 31 urge to dress up overcomes you, go for it! Virtually anything goes here! Shell World 47 Skybornvisual LLC 40 From first-class resorts to luxurious oceanfront estates, to charming beach Snappers Oceanfront Restaurant & Bar 24 bungalows and small boutique hotels, you’ll find your own slice of paradise to call Snooks Bayside Restaurant & Grand Tiki Bar 2 home. The Fish House Restaurant & Seafood Market 29 If island time fits the rhythm of your life, Key Largo is sure to please, whether The Keys Salt Scrub 47 you choose to fill your days with activities or relax in the glow of our spectacular Theater of the Sea 21 sunsets. Truly Nolen Pest Control 5 Weddings Today 51 Photography Providers Cover Photo by Nada Khalaf-Jones of Skybornvisual LLC; Weddings Today featuring This is the official publication of the Legendary Key Largo Chamber of Nada Khalaf-Jones, David Kay (aka Video Dave), Market Design Connect with Nikki Commerce. For further information on lodging, attractions, and visitor activities Dunn Cullen and other assorted businesses. in the Key Largo area, call 305-451-1414 or 1-800-822-1088. Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy. However, the Legendary Key Largo Chamber of Commerce shall not be held liable for any errors or omis- sions. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form whatsoever, including electronic and Internet applications, without written permission from Proud to Serve the publisher. Copyright 2020. Design by Nikki Dunn Cullen of MarketDesignConnect.com Edited by Elizabeth Moscynski, Lynnea Laux and Eileen Eadie Printed by The Upper Keys Weekly Destination Key Largo 3 C C The Key Largo Chamber of Commerce and to the business community. We Mean Business Visitors Center has been a testament to the The eyK Largo Chamber of Commerce The eyk to the chamber’s future dedication of its members since the 1930s, and Visitors Center is active in all aspects success lies in membership. Let the when a group of Upper Keys business of community life, and through various chamber know about your business owners got together to discuss how to projects and committees, our members concerns and allow the chamber to improve their business environment. show they share the chamber’s commitment demonstrate how it can serve you. The Incorporated in the 1970s, the Upper to community and business service. members define the direction of the Keys Chamber of Commerce became The island of Key Largo, and the chamber, and your voice needs to be the Legendary Key Largo Chamber of Florida Keys as a whole, relies on its major heard. Join us as we endeavor to bring Commerce in 1985, capitalizing on the industry – tourism. The chamber promotes a healthy, happy successful working enormous power of name recognition. the importance of maintaining and environment to the communities in Key Largo is a renowned destination enhancing this industry with the knowledge which we live, and a prosperous future and a name that experience has proven that all businesses in the community benefit to all. guarantees an enthusiastic and positive from a thriving tourist economy. The hamber’sc website contains a response. Every dollar spent by a visitor for wealth of information about businesses, Since its inception, the focus of accommodations, attractions, dining or as well as a number of special reports the Legendary Key Largo Chamber of shopping filters down to our accountants, on everything from highway beauti- Commerce has been the promotion of attorneys, bankers, contractors, electricians, fication funding source to workforce the economy through support or good hairdressers, insurance agents, painters, studies to managing emergencies and business, good government and good physicians, veterinarians and on and on. more. citizenship. The hamberc provides many opportu- The eyK Largo Chamber of Commerce nities for community and personal growth Networking Opportunities and Visitors Center works closely with through its committees. Members are The hamberc provides all members all local organizations and institutions encouraged to become an integral part opportunities to promote your business to improve the quality of life for all. We of the progress of the chamber and the or service through monthly luncheon interact with government on the local, state community through investing time in their meetings and Members in Motion and federal levels on issues of importance special area of interest. after-hours business socials. Sitting on the Dock of the Bay Photo by David Kay 4 Destination Key Largo Florida Keys, Home to 6,000 Patch Reefs The variety of species living on a coral reef is greater than in income for local economies and leisure any other shallow-water marine ecosystem, making reefs one to millions, and compounds isolated of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet from organisms living on reefs hold vast medical potential. Covering less than one percent of more than 50 species of coral, including Did you now the Florida Reef Tract the ocean floor, coral reefs support the federally protected Staghorn and is an arcuate (bowlike) band of living an estimated 25 percent of all known Elkhorn corals. The sanctuary is also coral reefs paralleling the Keys. The reef marine species. And the variety of home to more than 500 species of fish tract is located on a narrow shelf that species living on coral reefs is greater and countless other types of marine life. drops off into the Straits of Florida. than almost anywhere else in the world. The iodiversityb of reefs and the There are approximately 6,000 patch Scientists estimate that more than one habitat reefs provide for other species reefs along the reef tract, with 80 percent million species of plants and animals are are also the source of other benefits. For of these reefs found between northern associated with coral reef ecosystems. example, reef-based fisheries provide Elliott Keys and North Key Largo. With its extensive reef tract, Florida food and income, reef-based recreation Keys National Marine Sanctuary protects like diving and snorkeling provide Credit: Florida Keys Marine Sanctuary NOAA How to Protect Our Coral Reefs Keeping homes pest free since 1938 Here are tips on how you can help protect our valuable coral reefs: • Support organizations like Coral Restoration Foundation and REEF; they both work to protect coral reefs.