Coolest Bar in Coconut Grove Barracuda Celebrates 30 Years

On any given night, you'll find this scene under the pink awning on Fuller Street: pints of cold beer, belly-loud laughter, and an area full of people of all ages who look like they've known each other for years — even if they just met. For 30 years, Barracuda Taphouse & Grill has been Coconut Grove's great equalizer.

This spring, the neighborhood fixture marked three decades in business, a rare milestone in a city where bars come and go with the tide. It is an original, the last of the true honky-tonks in Coconut Grove.

New Times spoke with its founder, John El-Masry, and its new owner, Lee Kessler, to get a never-before-told look into its history and longevity in the heart of the Grove. click to enlarge

From Crazy Flamingo to Barracuda The story begins in 1994, when John El-Mas