Pete's Bar Has Been Pouring Drinks in Neptune Beach Since 1933. The Full Story.

Pete's Bar opened before Neptune Beach was a city.

Let that sit for a second. The city of Neptune Beach was founded in 1931. Pete's, in its earliest form as Jensen's Market, was already there in the 1920s slinging bootleg liquor under the Prohibition radar. When Prohibition got repealed in 1933, Pete's grabbed Duval County's very first liquor license. License number one. Before anybody else in the entire county could legally pour a drink.

Almost a hundred years later, the bar's still there. Same corner. Same vibes. Same Pabst Blue Ribbon at the bar. It's one of those rare spots that earns its way onto every list of things we love about Jacksonville, year after year.

The bootlegger who built a landmark

Peter Jensen ran Jensen's Market in the 1920s. Officially a general store. Unofficially, the kind of place where you could grab a bag of flour and a bottle of something the federal government was actively trying to outlaw.

When the Volstead Act got repealed in 1933, Pete grabbed that license and pivoted the market into a full bar. Smart move. He'd already built up a clientele who knew where the booze lived. If you want the broader context on how the city itself grew up around spots like this, our history of Jacksonville guide walks through it.

The bar sits at 117 First Street, right at the corner of First and Lemon in Neptune Beach. It's been there ever since. No fancy expansions. No corporate restyling. Just the same brick and wood and history that's been holding the corner down for nine plus decades.

A family operation for nearly 90 years

Pete's stayed in the Jensen family for almost 80 years straight. That's wild.

The lineage went like this. Peter Jensen ran it first, eventually alongside his son William. William and his wife Clara took over and ran it together until William died in 1979. Clara then ran it solo. Locals called her "Godmother" because she treated her employees like her own kids.

Clara passed the property to Etienne Lagniappe Inc. in 1999, though family member Tom Whittingslow kept operating the bar. The Jensen family kept it close for as long as possible.

In December 2021, Pete's got sold again. This time to Pierre's LLC out of Jacksonville Beach. The bar closed for about a week so the new owners could install two extra well bars to speed up service. They reopened just before Christmas. Locals braced for changes.

The changes were barely noticeable. Which was the whole point.

What makes Pete's, Pete's

A few things you need to know if you've never set foot inside.

It's a dive. Proudly. The Guardian (UK) put it on their top 10 Florida bars list back in 2013 and even they called it a dive with a lot of history. That's a compliment around here.

Cheap drinks, strong pours. PBR runs $3. Cans of Bud are 50 cents more. The well drinks are aggressive in the best way. If you order something complicated, you're at the wrong place.

Pool is always a quarter. That's been the line for decades. Cash gets you a game. The pool tables, the ping pong, the foosball, the shuffleboard, the arcade machines, all of it is still there.

Cash only for a long time. They've loosened up on that more recently, but the old school crowd still walks in with small bills out of habit.

WWII guns on the walls. Plus historical photos, neon, and decades of whatever's been hanging there since Clara picked it out. Nobody's touching the decor.

Nicknames. Locals call it Pedro's, Pierre's-by-the-Sea, or Club Ped depending on the era and the mood. Don't ask why. Just nod.

The John Grisham thing

Quick celebrity story. Best-selling author John Grisham used Pete's as the inspiration for his novel "The Brethren."

He used to hang out at Pete's regularly when his son played youth baseball in the Jacksonville area. The man could have written about any bar in the country. He picked Pete's.

That tells you something.

Petesgiving: the Thanksgiving tradition that took over First Street

You can't write about Pete's Bar without writing about Petesgiving.

What started as a handful of college buddies looking to grab a quick beer before Thanksgiving dinner has turned into one of the biggest annual events in Northeast Florida. Thousands of people now flood First Street every Thanksgiving morning, dressed in turkey hats, costumes, and full beach gear, for what's essentially the most beloved unofficial holiday at the Beaches.

In 2025, Petesgiving hit its 40th year. The City of Neptune Beach even unveiled Pete Jensen Way that morning, officially renaming a stretch of First Street in honor of the original owner. Pete Jensen wore a lot of hats over the years beyond running the bar, serving as town marshal, tax collector, assistant fire chief, and acting town clerk. The street naming was the kind of moment that only happens when a place really matters to a town.

We've already covered Petesgiving in depth, including how to attend, what to expect, and why this party has become the Beaches' most iconic tradition. If you've never been, read our full Petesgiving guide before next November rolls around.

Why Pete's still matters

The Beaches have changed. A lot. Restaurants come and go (RIP Ragtime). Buildings get torn down. Old spots get replaced by polished new concepts. The whole stretch of Atlantic Boulevard looks different than it did even ten years ago.

But Pete's keeps standing.

The thing about a bar that's been open for 90 plus years is that it stops being just a bar. It becomes a record. Of marriages that started there. Of families that brought their kids in after baseball games. Of friendships that formed over $3 beers. Of one specific Thanksgiving morning where someone met the person they ended up marrying.

That's a different category of business. You can't open a new Pete's. You just can't. The history isn't replicable.

How to do Pete's right

If you're heading to Pete's for the first time, a few pointers:

• Bring cash. They take cards now, but cash makes life easier, especially for pool.
• Order simple. Beer. Well drink. Shot. Save the cocktails for somewhere else.
• Get there early on weekends. The line forms fast, especially in good weather.
• Walk the room. Pete's has a lot of layers. Pool tables, ping pong, outdoor patio, multiple bars. Don't just camp at the first stool you find.
• Pet the bouncer dog if there is one. That's not a guarantee, but the Pete's vibe attracts the kind of regulars who bring their dogs.
• Don't be that tourist. Don't ask for a menu. Don't ask for a vibe check. Don't ask why everyone calls it Pedro's. Just be there.

And if you're planning a bigger night out around it, Pete's makes a perfect stop on any Beaches bar crawl. Check out our Jacksonville bachelor party guide for ways to build a whole night around it.

The corner you can't replace

Pete's sits at the intersection of First and Lemon, two blocks from where Ragtime used to be. The two anchored opposite corners of Beaches Town Center for decades.

Now Ragtime is gone, and Pete's is the lone elder of the neighborhood. Almost a century old. Still pouring. Still pulling crowds. Still operating exactly the way it did when Clara Jensen was running things.

If you've never been, fix that. And if you have, you already know. There's nothing else quite like it in Florida, and that's worth celebrating every chance we get.