Bobby Mongelli never intended to be a restaurateur, but fate intervened. Over the past several decades, he has developed and guided some of the Lower Keys’ and Key West’s most popular eateries — including the renowned Hogfish Bar & Grill on Stock Island.
Mongelli, who grew up outside Washington, D.C., first visited Key West after high school and subsequently lived in Aspen, Colorado. In 1983, unable to resist the island’s water-based lifestyle and friendly people, he headed south and became a full-time Key West resident.
“For me, it was the water,” he said of his prime reason for relocating. “And the fact that I could go out and get my own lobster and fish — you can’t describe the feeling of going out and getting that type of food.”
Then a landscaper, Mongelli undertook projects that included maintaining singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett’s Key West property. Much to his own surprise, however, he found his calling in the local restaurant industry.
“If you had told me when I got out of high school that I’d be in the restaurant business, I wouldn’t have believed it,” he said. “But you don’t pick the restaurant business; it picks you.”
Known for his enthusiasm and intuitive business sense, Mongelli developed establishments including PT’s Late Night. Opened in 1988 on Key West’s Caroline Street, it featured a sports-bar atmosphere and satisfying comfort food — quickly drawing a loyal local clientele. He built and launched the Lower Keys’ Geiger Key bar and restaurant a few years later, and oversaw it for decades.
In 2002, Mongelli and his wife Michelle opened the Hogfish Bar & Grill, a quintessentially Keys- casual emporium overlooking the water at Stock Island’s Safe Harbour Marina. In a surprisingly short time, it became a Florida Keys landmark.
The thatch-roofed Hogfish is known for its mellow “old Keys” atmosphere and colorful clientele as well as its full bar and extensive menu. Diners and drinkers sit inside or out at weathered picnic tables — most overlooking the houseboats and sailboats moored at the adjacent docks.
“People tell me they love the bar and restaurant because they can sit and relax, and feel like they’re part of the community,” Mongelli said. “I always treated my restaurants like a family place, and we always catered to the locals.”
Notable patrons over the years have included his old friend and Key West’s “favorite son” Buffett, other top musicians, congressmen and senators, celebrity chefs and a group Mongelli characterized as “cool people from all over the world.”
As its name implies, the place’s signature dish is hogfish — though a variety of other Keys land and sea dishes are also popular, including a lip-smacking smoked-fish dip.
The undisputed menu star, however, is the “killer” hogfish sandwich — a generous portion of the fish topped with melted swiss cheese and sautéed mushrooms and onions, all nestled on a chunk of fresh Cuban bread.
“In a way, it’s a working waterfront bar built around a sandwich,” explained Mongelli. “I had no idea it was going to take off the way it did.”
While the Hogfish remains Bobby and Michelle Mongellis’ flagship establishment, their current ventures also include Roostica Wood-Fire Pizzeria on Stock Island. After exploring pizza hotspots in the U.S. and Naples, Italy, they opened it in 2012 in a former warehouse. Authentic and laid-back, it features rustic Italian dishes and thin-crust Neapolitan-style pizzas.
Mongelli is passionate about the evolution of Stock Island and the direction it takes. His community involvement has included serving on the Monroe County Tourist Development Council’s board of directors, the TDC’s Lower Keys District Advisory Committee and the Lower Keys Chamber of Commerce.
During his rare leisure hours, he immerses himself in sports, going out on the water, spending time with his close-knit family and enjoying the community.
He and his restaurants have appeared on countless television shows including the NBC morning show “Today,” and been featured in Conde Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure and Southern Living, among other publications. Throughout the media coverage, Mongelli’s enduring affection for his lifestyle and island community are clearly evident.
“You only have one life to live, so try to do something that you enjoy doing,” he said. “Try to be happy in what you do, and live in a place where you feel happy doing it.”
He might not have planned to be a restaurateur, but Bobby Mongelli found both his calling and his heart’s home in the Florida Keys.
“I like the fact that I can go anywhere in town and people say hi — it’s a really neat feeling,” he said. “How could you ever give that up and start somewhere else where nobody knows you?”
