CIUDAD JUAREZ – It may seem like a typical border watering hole, but generations have sipped drinks at the historic bar and home of the margarita.
“We are very delighted to have visitors from Dallas, so we want to show them the place,” said Juarez resident Rafael Hernandez, as he and his wife introduced their friends, Stephanie Brancher and Scott Bernardi to the Kentucky Club.
“Beautiful, beautiful place, gorgeous place, excited to be here,” said Bernardi. Brancher laughing added, “I heard they have the best margaritas. They invented the margaritas, right?”
While it’s hard to know for sure, the Kentucky Club is hardly the first or last to claim it invented a beloved beverage or favorite dish. In Tijuana, it’s the Cesar salad.
What is certain is beyond the lore, these establishments have served as a magnet for customers from both sides of the border, especially Texans. In Matamoros, just across from Brownsville it was the Drive Inn. In Nuevo Laredo, the famous Cadillac Bar was king. And on the other side of the river from Del Rio in Ciudad Acuña: Mrs. Crosby’s or Ma Crosby’s attracted a following and was featured in George Strait's song “blame it on Mexico.”
All of those iconic border bars gone. This is the last one of its kind still standing. “The Kentucky Club has soul,” said Rich Wright, an El Pasoan who gives a walking tour of Ciudad Juarez that includes a stop at the historic bar. “You go into the Kentucky Club and you can sense all the drinks that have been spilled on the bar. You can sense that history. It’s there.”
The place is a short stroll from the Paso del Norte International Bridge connecting El Paso and Juarez. A bright green lit sign at the entrance proclaims it’s the “World famous Kentucky Club.”
Like many of the historic bars catering to Americans, the Kentucky Club dates back to prohibition in the 1920s. It also pays homage to Mexico’s Golden Era of film with grainy pictures of the country’s famous actors including Maria Felix and Jorge Negrete. Iconic American actors and singers too line the walls, including Marylyn Monroe, Jim Morrison, Mick Jagger and Elizabeth Taylor.
This year marks 105 years since the bar opened and quickly became a haven for Americans like many other historic bars born during prohibition. “Americans came from all over the country to these border towns to enjoy a legal drink in a bar, “ said Wright.
When Kentucky bourbon was banned at home, customers crossed the border to enjoy the drink at the Kentucky Club. During prohibition a distillery relocated to Ciudad Juarez to provide a steady supply of that most American of drinks.
“Americans came from all over the country to these border towns to enjoy a legal drink in a bar,” said Wright.
Despite its storied history the Kentucky Club has struggled like many bars in Mexican border cities.
After 9-11 Americans stayed away because of long lines at international bridges amid tighter security and new requirements including passports.
Others were scared off during a wave of drug violence and widespread bloodshed as rival cartels battled for turf and lucrative smuggling routes. That killed business at iconic border bars that relied on Texans and tourists visiting Mexico. At the same time, criminal groups engaged in extortion rackets and demanded protection money from bars, restaurants and other establishments.
More recently, the pandemic forced the Kentucky Club and others in Juarez to close temporarily. When the bar reopened it became a refuge for El Pasoans and other Americans who were tired of being cooped up at home. Despite precautions including social distancing and masks, COVID-19 claimed the life of Kentucky Club owner Sergio Peña in July 2020. That same year the bar was supposed to celebrate 100 years serving customers from both sides of the border. Instead both employees and customers mourned.
Despite hardship, the bar has found a way to survive and even thrive. Proximity to an international bridge is a plus along with its famous margarita.
As he mixes a margarita, bartender Teodoro Morales says the signature drink was created at the request of a customer in 1942 when it was not considered ladylike to drink straight tequila.
“That’s why the husband wanted the bartender to make his wife a special drink,” Morales said. “Then the bartender gave it to the lady and she had a sip. ‘Oh, that’s wonderful. What’s the name of it?’’’ she asked.
“’What’s your name?’’’ the bartender asked. “Margarita,”’ she replied. The legend of the margarita grew on both sides of the border. Morales now also mixes a mezcal margarita.
To this day the famous Margarita beckons both newcomers and loyal regulars. Consider Juarez native Alejandro Acosta, 45. He has been a customer for 25 years. “Mostly because of tradition and the attention to service,” he said.
New customers continue to discover the place including El Paso resident and Honduras native Marina Streep enjoying lunch at a table with family and friends. “I love it. I love the food. I love the people. I love the music,” she said.
Some come to forget their modern day problems and hassles. Others seek to remember a simpler time when crossing the border was like crossing the street.
Along with margaritas, waiters serve up generous servings of quesadillas, steak tacos and flautas. Customers have a wide selection of songs in English and Spanish to play on the jukebox At the behest of a customer, veteran waiter Oscar Chavez selects one of the most popular songs. El Noa Noa is about another famous bar. The legendary Juan Gabriel immortalized the place where he got his start singing at that bar on this same street. The Noah Noah is gone.
But customers and staff are determined to ensure this Juarez bar does not meet the same fate. “The Kentucky will never die,” Chavez said. “It has a lot of history.”
This story was co-published by KTEP News with Puente News Collaborative , a bilingual nonprofit newsroom, convener and funder dedicated to high-quality, fact-based news and information from the U.S.-Mexico border.
