If you’ve been off the beaten path in the right Southern places, you know dollar bill bars. At these delightfully divey watering holes, every visible surface is covered in dollars scribbled with the initials, anniversaries, hometowns, inside jokes, dates, or names of anyone who has darkened the doors of that particular bar over the past fifty years—or maybe just the past week.
These bars’ proprietors could close up shop and retire early if they cashed in their “wallpaper” and peeled all the greenbacks off the walls, ceiling, doors, and windows—but instead they opt to keep the dollar bill bar tradition alive. (Though, at some bars, bills fall off or are collected periodically and donated to local charities.)
How It Began
What’s the story behind a dollar bill bar, exactly? The tradition dates back decades and involves superstition, nostalgia, or lore, depending; in some places, patrons leave a signed dollar as a promise to return; in others, it’s simply a way to leave a trace and commemorate having been there, perhaps with a special someone or for a memorable occasion. Others say it started as a way for patrons to ensure they could afford a drink on their next visit.
The Southern Bars That Made It Famous
Whatever the case, over time, the bills accumulate and turn the bars into living guest books, a veritable museum of stories. No Name Pub in the Florida Keys is one of the most famous examples, but the origin story is a little different here (it’s Florida, what did you expect?).
Their site shares, “The 1970s and 80s became a rowdy time of our history. Jimmy Buffett’s ‘Why Don’t We Get Drunk’ played on the jukebox while people would drink, eat, and dance to excess in the Pub. There was a lot of illegal money passing through the Keys back then and everyone loved to spend it. They had so much money, in fact, they started hanging it on our walls.”
The backstory is also a little fuzzy at Cabbage Key Inn & Restaurant near Boca Grande (we’re detecting a theme here): “Almost as soon as the bar was opened at Cabbage Key, the first dollar went up. Gil Hampton … was one of the first bartenders when the bar was opened. He recalls the first dollar going up, but does not recall exactly why the person did it.
“It didn’t take long for more to appear, and the reasons varied. Was it for luck? A way to remember past visitors? Or was it commercial fishermen who would reclaim their dollar during a bad day of fishing? Yes to all those reasons, says Gil.” At a bar you can only reach by boat, it makes sense that the truth is a little untidy.
At their locations in Pensacola, Destin, and Panama City Beach, McGuire’s Irish Pub has bills stapled all over the walls and ceilings. Supposedly, their tradition started in 1977 when a waitress pinned her tip for good luck, and rumor has it today there’s more than a million dollars on the walls—and that it’s taxed every year.
Beyond Florida
But the dollar bill bar isn’t limited to Florida, at least not historically. The Sand Bar in Tybee Island, Georgia, used to be covered in bills, but the owner removed them all during the pandemic, distributing nearly $4,000 to her newly unemployed staff; The Griffon in Charleston did the same, but has since been re-plastered with cash. At Johnson Creek Tavern in Fripp Island, they regularly strip down the dollars and donate them to charity.
At Pawley’s Island Tavern in South Carolina, better known as The Pit, legend has it that fishermen used to staple a dollar to the wall so that even if they didn’t catch anything that day, they’d still have money for beer.
Whatever your motivation to participate, if you’re eager to visit a dollar bill bar yourself, go armed with a Sharpie and some singles and make your mark.
This article by Skye Sherman originally appeared on southernliving.com