Fausto’s Food Palace predates all of us. Think about that. No one who’s in Key West now can remember a time before Fausto’s. The family-owned grocery store is 100 years old. It’s the oldest continuously operating business in Key West — and still operated by the same family, that started it in 1926.
In a town where businesses tend to disappear like ice cubes in August, and nearly every place is known by something it used to be — “the old Turtle Kraals,” “that bank where Dennis Pharmacy was” — Fausto’s is a comfortable constant, reassuring in its permanence.
Many residents regard the 522 Fleming St. store as the “original,” as the family didn’t open the second location at 1105 White St. until 1984. But founder Fausto Castillo — Jimmy and Alton Weekley’s Cuban-born, maternal grandfather — sold his first groceries from a house at Packer and Virginia streets in 1926, according to a timeline assembled for the centennial. A year later, in 1927, he moved the store to the corner of Fleming and Simonton, where Marquesa Hotel is now, and was there for 22 years.
In those decades, Fausto Castillo’s wife died, prompting the couple’s then-teenaged daughter, Ana Luisa Castillo, to manage much of the business with her father. And she did a hell of a job, managing even to secure a bank loan and buy property herself without a man cosigning the mortgage, Alton said proudly.
From Castillo to Weekley
Ana Luisa Castillo eventually met a sailor named Carl Weekley. He was a cook on a Navy ship that docked in Key West. She delivered groceries to the Navy base. The two married, and were awaiting a baby when World War II sent Carl to the Pacific, leaving Ana to manage a new baby and her dad’s business until Carl returned.
In 1946, management of Fausto’s shifted mostly to Ana and Carl. Her father, Fausto, died in 1948. The following year, the Weekleys moved the store a half block, making 522 Fleming St. the Fausto’s we all know.
Well, sort of. A fire destroyed the building in 1966. But a new, modernized grocery store reopened there a year later and processed one of Key West’s very first credit card transactions.
The Fausto’s family tradition continues today with Carl and Ana’s sons, Jimmy and Alton Weekley, carrying on the tradition with Jimmy’s wife, Susan. Today, fourth-generation family members “J” and Dakin are part of the story, too.
Through the years
A hundred years ago, shoppers went to Fausto’s for basic staples, small-batch provisions and Cuban imports, often sold in five-cent increments to accommodate the budgets of local cigar factory workers. It was a far cry from some of the sophisticated fare that fills the store shelves today.
Playwright Tennessee Williams perused Fausto’s aisles. Jimmy Buffett wrote a song about stopping in for chocolate milk.
And where else but Key West could a resident find the town’s meat-cutting mayor (Jimmy) in his butcher’s apron every weekday? Jimmy spent a total of 35 years as a city commissioner and mayor.
Alton too, served on the city commission and remains a leader of the Key West Rotary Club.
He left Key West for college, passed his CPA exam and raised a family in Central Florida, returning home in 2003 when his kids finished high school.
Both brothers know nearly everyone who enters “their” stores. Jimmy runs Fleming Street and Alton’s on White Street.
Back around 2009, when Eliza Street residents and Fausto’s regulars Stephanie and Joe Mitchell had a baby named Jack, Alton happily ensured that the White Street store always had the right-sized diapers and preferred baby food items. Jack Mitchell is now 17 and earned his first paycheck from Alton at the White Street Fausto’s two years ago.
Today, Fausto’s Food Palace is a combination of small-town nostalgia and upscale ingredients sought by many seasonal residents. Locals are almost sure to see someone they know in the aisles — even when they’re still in pajama pants and flip flops.
The full-service butcher counter still makes its own sausage (spicy & mild) using Carl Weekley’s recipe.
“Our meat is hand-cut every day,” said Jimmy Weekley, who will cut a steak or lamb chops as thick as someone requests. “I honestly love waiting on customers at the meat counter. I love the interactions, whether we’re talking about steaks or sports or local politics.”
Centennial celebration
The year-long celebration of Fausto’s 100th anniversary reaches its peak this weekend, Oct. 8-10, with food and wine tastings, live music sets, in-store specials, a ceremonial ribbon cutting, and a massive birthday cake — and the whole community is invited.
Events kick off Thursday, Oct. 8, with in-store specials at both locations: 522 Fleming St. and 1105 White St. On Friday, Oct. 9, from 5-7 p.m. both stores will host wine tastings and live music.
The party hits full swing on Saturday, Oct. 10, from noon to 6 p.m., when the Fleming Street location becomes the center of the celebration. Friends, neighbors and visitors can enjoy performances by local children’s groups while sampling wines and treats from area purveyors, including Smilin’ Bob’s fish dip, Key West Spice Co., Bell & Evans, Gourmet Foods International, and plenty of store-made favorites.
There will be giveaways, remarks and a cake-cutting with members of the Weekley family, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony to kick off the next 100 years of Fausto’s history.
While the Key West of 1926 would be unrecognizable today, some things never change and never should.
Fausto’s remains a family business, a neighborhood grocery store and a spontaneous social center.
And you’ll still find Alton and Jimmy chatting with customers, wrapping steaks in white butcher paper, meeting early-morning delivery trucks — and above all, keeping a century-old tradition alive.
