Marathon Rebuilt the Old Salty's Site for Charter Captains and the Pigeon Key Train

Salty's Bar & Grill burned in January 2014. When the City of Marathon started looking at the property in 2021, the Florida Keys Free Press described a site with seven boat slips, a 3,200-square-foot building and 200 feet of dock. The city now runs that frontage, at 1090 Overseas Highway near the east end of the Seven Mile Bridge, as the 7-Mile Marina. Its ports director, Sean Cannon, told Keys Weekly the city expected to open it around Nov. 1.

The city spent five years and several grants turning a former bar and grill into working infrastructure: a charter-fishing marina, fish-cleaning stations, and a depot for the Pigeon Key train. The 2022 plans call for a self-service concession, not a restaurant. The city then wrote slip rules that keep the docks with people who fish for a living.

Twelve years from the fire to new finger piers

The timeline explains why the site sat empty for so long and why it came back as a marina:

1. January 2014. Salty's burns.
2. Dec. 15, 2021. The Marathon City Council votes unanimously to buy the property, Keys Weekly reported.
3. March 2022. A city council resolution describes the newly bought site: Hurricane Irma had heavily damaged several docks, and the building needed major renovation. Council approves a design contract capped at $133,763.
4. Summer 2022. A $1,488,000 Florida Communities Trust grant comes through for the purchase and construction, with the value of property the city had already acquired counting as its match, per Keys Weekly.
5. June 2026. The city's monthly grants report says the electronic sign is up and dock construction is underway. That work is paid for by a separate $502,700 Tourist Development Council grant for finger piers and the sign.
6. Fall 2026. The city's tentative FY2026–27 budget proposes $1.3 million for marina improvements. The adopted FY2025–26 column shows $2 million.

The 2022 design scope reads like a work order for a fishing dock. It calls for a commercial charter-fishing marina, a restroom for charter crews, fish-cleaning stations, a boat lift, storage lockers for marina tenants, and a rear deck for freezers and an ice machine. The only food on the plans is a "self-service concession." A footpath to an extra parking lot was planned too, but only if the city could lease more space beyond the lobster building next door.

The slip rules keep the docks working

In its Oct. 29 issue, Keys Weekly reported that six commercial slips were still available, at $35 per foot of vessel. The terms the city attached to them, as printed in that issue:

• First come, first served
• One slip per person or agency
• Slips cannot be resold or sublet
• Applicants must provide insurance, income verification, a background check and the appropriate licenses
• Cleaning tables are on site, with water and electricity to come later

Under those terms, a captain can't hold more than one slip, can't pass a lease to another boater for a profit, and can't rent the space out to a weekend boater. The income check and license requirement favor people who run boats for a living. The marina has its own enterprise fund in the FY2026–27 budget, which lists $12,000 a year in rent from Pigeon Key.

The licensing side isn't fully settled. The June grants report says the city's draft dock-rental licensing agreement and management plan were still under review by the Florida Communities Trust, and the state had sent comments back for revision. Captains with questions can email the city at [email protected]. Slip terms, insurance and licensing are matters between each applicant and the city. This post is general information, not legal or financial advice.

Pigeon Key shares the building

The marina's other tenant is the one most residents will deal with. The Pigeon Key Foundation lists 1090 Overseas Highway as the Pigeon Key Visitors Center, where its train tours to the island leave and return. That was in the city's 2022 plan, which set aside room in the renovated building for Pigeon Key ticket sales, a small gift shop and a video waiting room, with a covered deck on the west side for loading trolley passengers.

Here is how the Foundation's posted rates compare:

The local train fare is $7 less than the adult fare. The Foundation's page doesn't say what proof of residency it accepts, so ask at the counter. Trains leave daily at 10 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. The last return is at 4:15 p.m., and the Foundation asks riders to check in 10 minutes early. The Visitors Center is listed as open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day, weather permitting.

The Old Seven Mile Bridge itself is open to walkers, runners and cyclists. You only need admission to step onto Pigeon Key, join a tour or use the island's facilities. The Foundation names two parking options: the bridge end at mile marker 48, or the Visitors Center at mile marker 47. The lot has already served as the city's event parking. For the Oct. 10 America 250 sunset celebration on the old bridge, there was no parking at the bridge itself, and Keys Weekly reported free parking at the Pigeon Key trolley lot at the 7-Mile Marina.

The rest of the city's November calendar

The marina is the biggest of several city projects coming back online this month. The others are smaller, and most are free.

Movies Under the Stars, Saturdays at the Marathon Community Park amphitheater. The city's free series starts at dusk. Bring chairs, blankets, snacks and drinks, but no alcohol.

• Nov. 7: "Ghostbusters"
• Nov. 14: "The Great Outdoors"
• Nov. 21: "Raiders of the Lost Ark"
• December continues with "Fred Claus" on Dec. 5, "Elf" on Dec. 12 and "A Christmas Story" on Dec. 19

Jesse Hobbs Community Park playground, closed Monday, Nov. 9, through Monday, Nov. 23. The work adds mulch to the play surface. The basketball court, benches, bleachers and bathrooms stay open, and the city plans a grand reopening of the playground on Nov. 23 at 10 a.m., according to project manager Mark Tuschel.

The private and nonprofit side of the month fills in around those dates:

• Saturday, Nov. 7, 5 to 7 p.m. The Marathon Moose Lodge at 11601 1st Ave. Gulf holds a public first-responders night. Responders eat free, Freddie Bye and John Bartus play, and there's a cornhole tournament. Proceeds go to the Florida Sheriffs' Youth Ranches. The lodge also runs public bingo every Monday, with doors at 5 p.m. and games at 6:15 p.m.
• Saturday, Nov. 7, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The Hope Walk Luminary Event at Crane Point Museum & Nature Center, 5550 Overseas Highway, is a candlelight walk honoring cancer survivors and remembering those lost. That's the same night as the first movie, so plan around it.
• Through Nov. 30. The Anne McKee Artist's Fund is taking submissions for its 2027 Fine Art Auction at mckeefund.org. Only 40 entries will be accepted, and the deadline is 5 p.m.
• Saturday, Nov. 21, 9:30 a.m. The 50-mile route of MARC's Tour de Keys leaves Gulfside Village and finishes at Truman Waterfront Park in Key West. Expect cyclists on the Overseas Highway heading west that morning.

Before you drive north after dark

Expect nighttime work on the Channel 5 Bridge. Keys Weekly reported intermittent single-lane closures from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., Sunday through Thursday, for roughly eight weeks. Flaggers will alternate traffic, and both directions may be stopped for up to 15 minutes during some bridge operations. FDOT posts updates at southflroads.com.

If you're out early, Seashell Coffee Marathon has opened at 11399 Overseas Highway, Unit 6. The Florida Keys tourism council lists lattes, matcha, boba, empanadas, yuca bites and Key lime cake.

Working waterfront like the new 7-Mile Marina is scarce in the Keys, and dock access often decides what a waterfront property is worth. Miami Brokers Group advises Keys owners and buyers on waterfront properties with dockage, and our in-house lending team at MBG Capital Partners handles the financing. Request a private valuation and consultation to find out what your dock adds to your property's value.