Fausto's, Jimmy, Jimmy + Chocolate Milk

Jimmy Buffett, Jimmy Weekley and Tom Corcoran

The Two Jimmys: Fausto’s, Buffett and a Century of Key West History

When Jimmy Buffett sang about going down to Fausto’s for chocolate milk in 1976, the Fleming Street grocery store had already been serving Key West for 50 years. This year, Fausto’s Food Palace celebrates its 100th anniversary—an extraordinary milestone for a family business that became part of Buffett lore, created the original Margaritaville cheeseburger and remains one of the rare places where visitors can step directly into the Key West he wrote about.

The relationship between Buffett and Fausto’s is also the story of two Jimmys, born only about a year apart, whose paths came remarkably close to crossing long before they actually met. Jimmy Weekley was born and raised in Key West. Jimmy Buffett first arrived on the island in 1971 and made it his home in 1972. But in 1973, just as Buffett was settling into the rhythms of Key West, Weekley moved to Washington, D.C., to work as a courtroom clerk.

By 1975, Buffett had woven himself into the Fleming Street neighborhood. Directly across from Fausto’s, his friend Tom Corcoran operated the F.T. Sebastian Leather Company in a former Cities Service gas station. Buffett used its empty service bays as a rehearsal space while assembling the Coral Reefer Band to tour behind Havana Daydreamin’. Greg “Fingers” Taylor, Roger Bartlett, Harry Dailey and Phil Fajardo rehearsed there, sometimes late enough to test the patience of the neighbors.

Buffett also frequented the Key West Library farther along Fleming Street, and his future brother-in-law lived nearby. Within a few blocks were the places where he read, rehearsed, visited friends, bought groceries and absorbed the everyday life of his adopted island. 

In December 1975, Weekley saw Buffett perform for the first time at the Cellar Door in Georgetown. Shortly afterward, he returned home to Key West and joined the family business. His father, Carl Weekley, a meat cutter by trade, put him in charge of the butcher shop.

Weekley’s first sighting of Buffett back home was as casual as the neighborhood itself. He was talking with Mary Spottswood in the Fausto’s parking lot when Buffett walked past and waved to her. Weekley asked who it was, and Spottswood told him it was Jimmy Buffett, her tenant.

“I’m Goin’ Down to Fausto’s”

In 1976, Havana Daydreamin’ brought Fausto’s into Buffett lore. “My Head Hurts, My Feet Stink and I Don’t Love Jesus” chronicled the morning after a particularly long Key West night, when the necessary recovery supplies included orange juice, something for his aching head and chocolate milk from Fausto’s:

“I’m goin’ down to Fausto’s To get some chocolate milk.”

[FULL LYRICS HERE] 

As Key West writer Carol Shaughnessy observed, naming Fausto’s showed that Buffett had truly assimilated into the culture of his island home. He knew where locals went for groceries, conversation and a morning-after cure. He had become “one of us.”

Fausto’s advertised itself as “not just a grocery store, but a social center,” and the slogan was true. Its aisles brought together writers, bartenders, fishermen, Navy personnel, politicians, longtime families and newcomers reinventing themselves in Key West. Customers might encounter Tennessee Williams, Shel Silverstein, novelist Phil Caputo or one of the island’s less celebrated characters, but nearly everyone could expect a warm welcome from Weekley’s mother, Ana.

The daughter of founder Fausto Castillo, Ana became a partner in the business at 17 and was famous for remembering customers, their families and the details of their lives. She and Carl later took over and expanded the business, and their sons, Jimmy and Alton Weekley, became the third generation to carry it forward.

Buffett did not make Fausto’s important to Key West; it had already been part of island life for half a century when he recorded the song. What he did was recognize its importance and share it with the rest of the world. As his following grew, fans began making their own pilgrimages to Fausto’s. During Meeting of the Minds, Weekley knew to stock extra chocolate milk for Parrot Heads recreating Buffett’s famous morning-after errand.

That tradition continues during Just a Few Friends, when Sean K’s walking and Coconut Telegraph Trolley tours visit the real Key West places behind the songs and stories. The tours include a stop at Fausto’s for chocolate milk—and, if they are lucky, guests may meet Jimmy Weekley himself.

The Secret Behind the Cheeseburger in Paradise

Weekley’s contribution to Buffett history eventually extended far beyond chocolate milk. When Buffett and partner Kevin Boucher prepared to expand the small Margaritaville retail shop into the original Margaritaville Café in late 1987, they needed a cheeseburger worthy of one of Buffett’s signature songs. Boucher turned to the butcher at Fausto’s.

Weekley created three proprietary beef blends for Buffett’s team to sample. They unanimously selected Blend No. 2. Weekley assumed the new restaurant might need 30 or 40 pounds of ground beef each week, but Boucher told him to prepare 200. As Buffett’s popularity grew and Meeting of the Minds brought thousands of Parrot Heads to Key West, the order eventually reached 350 pounds per week. Fausto’s delivered rack after rack of hand-pattied, five-ounce burgers to the original Margaritaville Café.

The arrangement continued for decades until Buffett sold several of the restaurants and purchasing shifted to a national supplier, ending Fausto’s long run as its burger provider. Other restaurateurs have asked Weekley to recreate the original blend, but his answer has always been the same: “I’ll take that recipe to the grave.”

In 2022, longtime friend and restauranter Bobby Mongelli approached Weekley with a different idea. Rather than duplicate the Margaritaville burger, Mongelli asked him to create something that paid tribute to it. Using the same three core ingredients but changing the proportions and making his own refinements, Weekley developed Jimmy’s Burger for Hogfish Bar & Grill. Although many customers assume the title on their menu honors Jimmy Buffett, it is actually, with a wink, is named for Jimmy Weekley.

This Labor Day Weekend, those two branches of the story will meet at the Just a Few Friends Cheeseburger Beach Battle. Margaritaville Café and Hogfish Bar & Grill will face off with other local restaurants as guests decide who serves the best hamburger with cheese in a tropical place. Weekley’s original recipe will remain secret, but visitors will be able to taste two chapters of a story that began behind the meat counter at Fausto’s.

From the Butcher Shop to City Hall

The connection between Buffett and Weekley also grew through politics and public service. When Weekley ran for the Key West City Commission in 1985, Buffett contributed $500 to his campaign. Weekley recalls Buffett continuing to support his campaigns as he went on to serve 35 years in city service as commissioner and mayor.

Their stories became entwined most significantly at the Key West Bight. While serving on the City Commission, Weekley learned that the Singleton Company, which owned much of the Bight, intended to sell the property to private enterprise. Weekley initiated the effort for the city to acquire it and helped bring a referendum before local voters authorizing the purchase through the Trust for Public Land.

Buffett was already leasing a non-descript building at the Bight from Singleton and using it as a recording studio. After the city acquired the property, he wrote to the Key West Bight Board asking to continue his lease, offering to increase the rent and invest in expanding the building. Shrimp Boat Sound went on to become a working piece of Key West music history, used by Buffett and an extraordinary roster of visiting artists.

After Buffett’s death and the removal of the studio equipment, the future of the deteriorating building became uncertain. Today, Weekley serves on the Key West Bight Management District Board, helping oversee the same waterfront whose public purchase he initiated decades ago. In June 2026, he supported recommending a long-term lease of Shrimp Boat Sound to David Bernsen, whose plans include restoring it as a working studio, museum and venue for special events with proceeds benefiting Key West charities.

The circle now stretches across half a century: from the courtroom clerk who first heard Buffett perform in Washington DC , to the Fausto’s butcher who created his restaurant’s burger, to the commissioner Buffett supported, and the public official helping determine the future of Buffett’s Key West studio.

Still Fausto’s

Fausto’s enters its second century under the leadership of Jimmy and Alton Weekley, still a grocery store, a social center and a place where unexpected encounters happen in the aisles and parking lot. For Buffett fans, it remains something increasingly rare: a real and accessible piece of the Key West he knew.

During Just a Few Friends, guests can go down to Fausto’s for chocolate milk on Sean K’s walking and trolley tours—and perhaps hear the story from Jimmy Weekley himself. They can also taste his burger legacy at the Cheeseburger Beach Battle.

Buffett immortalized Fausto’s with one line in a song. Weekley later helped put the cheeseburger on Buffett’s plate, helped preserve the waterfront where Buffett recorded and now has a hand in the future of Shrimp Boat Sound. After 100 years, Fausto’s remains part of the story.

Jimmy Buffett performs before a larger-than-life image of Fausto’s Food Palace, used as a backdrop during one of his concert tours. Buffett’s team later sent the photograph to Jimmy Weekley, who shares it on the Fausto’s website. Weekley recalls a winter resident from Michigan who saw the image and insisted he remembered attending “that concert in front of your store.” Rather than correct him, Weekley played along. The concert, of course, took place onstage—not in the Fausto’s parking lot.

[all photos in this story provided by Jimmy Weekely]

GET READY! Your Just a Few Friends badges are on the way!

The final batch of souvenir charity Event Badges has officially been dropped in the mail! A huge THANK YOU to the amazing team at The UPS Store Big Pine for helping us get hundreds of envelopes packed, stamped, and on their way to 'just a few friends' across the country.

You should start seeing them arrive next week. Just remember... we're at the end of the road down here in the Florida Keys, so sometimes the mail takes the scenic route. If yours doesn't show up right away, don't panic—it may take a few extra days depending on where you live.

Haven't purchased your badge yet? There's still time! Order online anytime and pick up your Souvenir Charity Event Badge at Key West First Legal Rum Distillery, open daily from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM

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Your badges will NOT be mailed. They'll be waiting for you when you check in here in Key West.

A couple of things to know when your envelope arrives:

• Your mailing includes your badge only. Lanyards are not included.

• Free commemorative lanyards will be available while supplies last at IV Hydration, one of our amazing festival partners, starting in September. We'll also have a limited number available for purchase at Festival Headquarters.

• The QR code on the front of your badge goes live on September 3! Scan it to unlock exclusive offers, discounts, and special perks from our festival partners throughout the weekend.

Pro Tip: A colorful lei and a simple paper clip make a fun, very Key West way to wear your badge.

We can't wait to see those badges showing up in mailboxes all over the country. The countdown is officially on!

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DON'T MISS THIS: A Pirate Looks Back: The Key West Jimmy Buffett Tribute Show  

📅 Daily · September 2–7 🕧 12:30–2:00 PM (Doors open at 12:00 PM) 📍 Comedy Key West · 218 Whitehead St. #5, Key West

There are plenty of places to grab lunch in Key West—but only one where you can spend it with a legend.

🎸 A Pirate Looks Back is Key West's only all-inclusive dine-in musical tribute, taking you back to the 1970s when a young songwriter found his voice on this very island. Acclaimed musician, actor, and Buffett historian Caleb Hogan appears in character in a show that blends live music, storytelling, humor, and a healthy dose of island nostalgia.

🌴 Part lunch theater, part tribute concert, and part journey through Key West's creative, bohemian past—this is a one-of-a-kind experience that captures the songs, spirit, and stories that helped shape a movement.

🍔 Your all-inclusive ticket includes: • Cheeseburger with chips • One drink from the lunch menu 🍹 Additional beverages and drink specials available for purchase.

🎟️ Tickets: $56.88 🚪 Doors open: 12:00 PM ⏰ Please arrive by 12:15 PM for seating and lunch service.

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Calling Volunteers

Just a Few Friends September 3–7 needs a few more friends to help make the weekend happen!

Choose from volunteer opportunities at:

🎟️ Festival HQ 🍔 Cheeseburger on the Beach 🎶 Duval Street Party 🍹 Margarita Bar Stroll 🦜 Second Line Memorial Parade 🌅 Party in the Park

As a thank-you, every volunteer receives a FREE 2026 souvenir charity Event Badge—a $35 value. More importantly, you’ll help us keep many of our signature events free and open to everyone while supporting Reef Relief, the Bahama Village Music Program and scholarships for local students.

Our volunteers are part of what makes Just a Few Friends different. Your time, energy and Key West hospitality mean the world to us—and to the charities at the heart of the celebration.

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