Cigar factories opened in Key West as early as the 1830's, although it was in the late 1860's that the business really took off. The industry grew quickly, and factories opened all over town. By 1890, more than a million cigars were produced here annually.

With the advent of the twentieth century, cigarmaking in Key West began to slow down. Cigarettes had become popular and the cigar was falling out of style. Following a few highly destructive hurricanes, a number of factories had relocated to Ocala or Tampa. It was time for Key Westers to examine other moneymaking opportunities.

Jesus Carmona was a smart man. He realized he could make a few extra dollars by selling the cigars he got for free, as an employee at the Gato factory, over at The Cuban Club. The two businesses were only a block apart in the part of town known as "Gatoville," and Senor Carmona lived in the neighborhood as well. When his cigar resale business proved a success, he decided to expand his product line by offering homemade ice cream and his wife's rum cake. His clientele went wild­ Carmona's ice cream was the best anyone had ever tasted!

By now, it's the mid-1920's in Key West, and business at the cigar factories was really looking bleak. Friends and family assured Senor Carmona that an ice cream shop would be welcomed by all his fans at The Cuban Club. In fact, space was available in the former garage next door. Jesus Carmona signed the lease and opened El Anon.

El Anon translates as The Sugar Apple­ a good name for an ice cream parlor. (Left) This shot of its exterior was probably posed. That's Consuelo "BeBa" Carmona seated on the right in the print dress, and Jesus "Chu" Carmona standing with the waiter's tray­ two of Jesus's three children.

You'll notice the sign in the picture states the shop also offers sandwiches (and curb service­ El Anon was Key West's first drive-in,) but the big hit was always the ice cream. Because Jesus Carmona didn't just make chocolate and vanilla. Oh, no. Senor Carmona made ice cream flavored with the fresh fruit that grew around Key West­ mango, sapodilla, coconut, sour sop, tamarind, and mamey. Kids even made extra cash by bringing in the fruit they'd harvested in their own yards and selling it to Senor Carmona.

El Anon was immediately popular, and stayed that way as the decades passed. The shop was open seven days a week until late at night­ bringing in kids and senior citizens during the day and younger couples at night. It was the "last stop" in the Saturday night promenade­ the practice of sashaying up and down Duval Street, by Key Westers of all ages, to see and be seen, then stopping in at El Anon to end the evening with a sandwich and a beer, a sundae or a soda. One of the busiest days of the year was Christmas. Since Jesus arrived at 7:30 in the morning and left around midnight, it's hard to know when he got to take time for himself. But he did­ and he liked to hunt deer. And he brought home his trophies and hung them around the shop.