Tobacco Road is looking for Experienced Line Cooks for night shift. Please respond with resume to tobaccoroad626@yahoo.com.
Tobacco Road September Events Calendar
98 Cent Specials Every Week!
We will be sending a 98 cent special (dinner, drinks, etc.) every week ONLY on our email blasts. Subscribe to our mailing list to receive these incredible deals!
$5 Lunch Break At Tobacco Road
(Click here to learn more)
EAT
“Real food for real people” sums up Tobacco Road’s philosophy on food. In a town full of “haute cuisine,” locals and visitors alike depend on our menu for their traditional favorites.
We smoke our own ribs, turkey and pulled pork. We also have salads made from locally grown produce and a vegetarian sandwich made with sprouts, avocados and tomatoes on black bread – yum, yum!
And if a burger ever deserved four-stars, it would be ours. Made from the juiciest ground sirloin you’ll ever find, the classic Road Burger is always done right (after all, the same guy in the kitchen has made them for over 25 years).
Dinner specials include:- 1 1/4 Main Lobster for $12.49 on Tuesdays
- All-U-Can-Eat BBQ Ribs for $10.99 on Wednesday
- 16oz T-Bone Steak for $10.99 on Thursdays.
DRINK
Fastest way to make history in Miami? Order a drink at Tobacco Road.
Miami’s Oldest Bar has been serving customers for more than 95 years, including
Gangster Al Capone who, legend has it, was a patron at The Road during Prohibition. We’ve assembled the
best collection of single-malt scotches, ice cold brews, and premium liquors that you’ll find behind any bar in America. How about a screwdriver – our friends behind the bar make ‘em to order with hand-squeezed, fresh Florida oranges.
Tobacco Road serves cocktails daily ‘til 5 am.
HANG
Cabaret
If these walls could talk! Our upstairs Cabaret was the choice locale for Miamians during the Prohibition Era when Gangster Al Capone was said to be a regular at the Roulette wheel. Black and white photos in ornate gold frames tell the tale of Miami’s history. Rich red walls and velvet settees add to the mystique.
With a full bar and performance stage, the Cabaret is open to the public or available for private parties of up to 120 guests. Click here to book your event.
Downstairs
The downstairs at Tobacco Road is considered one of the best bars in the world. Upon entering the long, narrow room you’ll need a moment to adjust your eyes to the darkness. When they open, you’ll be surrounded by authentic cool – the kind that takes decades to garner. Bands that’ve played the Road are celebrated in photos and posters that hang on the walls. One entire side of the Road is dedicated to the bar – the focal point of anyone’s visit. Kick back with friends at a table, order some grub and listen to the band on stage. Click here to book your event.
Patio
Would it make sense to have a restaurant in Miami without outside seating? Day or night, Tobacco Road’s patio is a great place to hang. Grab a table under an umbrella or seat at the bar and gaze up at the 150-year old Oak. This is definitely the place for happy hour. You can even light up a cigarette – the back patio at the Road is one spot that stills allows it. Our patio is available for special parties and events. Click here to book your event.
MUSIC
The Road has done more than champion Miami’s live music scene, we created it. Musicians take to our stages seven nights a week. Legendary bands have cultivated their sounds at Tobacco Road before going national.
We’ve played host to world’s greatest blues and jazz acts, including George Clinton - The King of Funk, and Koko Taylor -the Queen of the Blues. Ready to dance?
Oski, our resident DJ, brings his eclectic spinning talents to our patio every Friday night.
Click here to see who is playing this month at The Road.
To get booked at The Road, click here.
HISTORY
Considered
Miami’s Oldest Bar, The Road has survived several Miami land booms, Al Capone, Prohibition, the Great Depression, the country at War, deadly hurricanes, Mariel Boatlift, race-riots, cocaine cowboys, and the rise and fall and rise of South Beach.
The Road has been a speakeasy, gambling den, gay bar, strip joint and blues bar. The two-story structure remains virtually unchanged since its inception in the early 1900s. And while ownership has changed, the primary purpose of the establishment – a neighborhood watering hole - has always been the same.
Turn of the century – 1930s
The original address was 1812 Avenue D before the city changed its street names in 1920. During its early years, the establishment was a bakery that presumably served as a front for a speakeasy during Prohibition. A secret room hidden behind a bookshelf on the second floor was used to store liquor. While Prohibition was in effect from 1920 – 1930, Dade County was voted to be Dry in 1913. In the 1920s and 30s, the second floor speakeasy was also thought to be used as a gambling den.
1940s-1970s
In the early 1940s it was purchased by an infamous racketeer and bookie from New York who named it Tobacco Road. During this decade, the Road became a nationally known gay bar and the focus of local outrage. It was shut down by the city’s Morals Squad for “lewd, wanton and lascivious behavior” a charge that referred to its female impersonators and male strippers. The military responded by declaring the Road off limits to all its personnel - a ban that was lifted in 1986.
In the decades that followed, the bar operated under the names Chicken Roost, Chanticleer Restaurant and Shandiclere. In the 1970s, it was sold to a former Miami police officer, who renamed the bar back to Tobacco Road.
1980s - today
In 1981, Governor Bob Graham ordered a drug raid on Tobacco Road and the bar was again temporarily shut down. In 1982, the bar was sold to its present owners Michael Latterner and Patrick Gleber. The neighborhood was tough and so was the Road. The parking lot was an abandoned field with homeless squatters and a crack house was located across the street.
National blues and jazz acts began playing the bar, including George Clinton - The King of Funk, Koko Taylor, The Queen of the Blues, David Bromberg - Legendary Songwriter & Performer, John Lee Hooker - An American Blues Roots Treasure, Dr. John - Personification of New Orleans and Albert Collins - Blues Guitar Master.
Tobacco Road gained a new reputation as a popular hangout with downtown professionals, celebrities and tourists. Today Tobacco Road continues to champion Miami’s local music scene with live music seven nights a week.
PEOPLE
What gives Tobacco Road character? It’s our eclectic group of friends. Our regulars – referred to as “Road Warriors” - come from all walks of life; they are downtown professionals, local musicians, tourists, college students, neighbors, politicians and celebrities looking for anonymity. Most of all though, it’s the characters who serve you; some who’ve been proudly
serving at the Road for more than 20 years. Characters indeed! Get to know us.
MEDIA
View our Media Gallery
Media Contact: Joe Portela 305-374-1198
STORE
Proudly tell the world that
Tobacco Road is your favorite watering hole. Our traditional black Road shirt – a classic with 50,000 sold, have been spotted in India, Asia and Europe not to mention all over this great land of ours. Our fun selection of Road merchandise is available for purchase at the bar.
FIND US
Ask any cabbie in Miami where Tobacco Road is located and you’ll end up on at our doorstep within minutes. For those who need more help,
click here for directions.
CALENDAR
View our current events.
Need to Book an event? Click Here.
