Uncle Charlie's is absolutely unquestionably positively the best bar for spirits.

Welcome to Uncle Charlie's

The year was 1906. Charlie Beresford, who later became known as "Uncle Charlie," accepted employment for Mr. Hirth, proprietor of the Palace Saloon at the time. He quickly became Mr. Hirth's right hand man and was even given his own bar. The Palace Saloon was known as the "Ship Captain's Bar" and served only the elite: sea captains and their wives or other impressive names such as the Rockefellers and Carnegies.  

Charlie's bar guests instead, catered to the working class: the sailors, rail men, and other workers who kept the shipping industry alive. Uncle Charlie was a friendly guy and enjoyed waging bets with patrons to see who could land coins on the busts of statues behind the bar. At night's end, he'd scoop up the change. Charlie lived a long life in Fernandina and died in his bedroom above his bar in 1960.

The ghost stories started soon after Charlie's death. A bartender was making the same bet to flip coins onto the busts, when he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder, as though being told to stop. That was Charlie's bar, as well as his bar game, after all. Another tale involves the old player piano that is covered in plexi-glass. It would start playing each night at about 2 a.m., the exact time Charlie liked to hammer out a tune or two. In 1999, a fire burned every room in the Palace Saloon with the exception of Charlie's bedroom.

So, if you end up in the Palace Saloon or Charlie's Bar, for an afternoon or evening cordial, be sure to look around because you never know who might be standing near-by to greet you. Perhaps Uncle Charlie waiting to toss a coin or tap you on the shoulder, or maybe one of the ships' captains seeking a cool drink and conversation after a long voyage!

– Written by Carol D. O'Dell from Amelia Islander Magazine