Blue Heaven Rooster Cemetery
Key West's feral roosters are protected by city ordinance. When they die, some are buried in a small cemetery in the courtyard of a beloved restaurant.
Key West has a feral rooster problem — or, depending on your perspective, a feral rooster feature. The birds are descendants of fighting cocks released after cockfighting was banned in the 1970s. They are protected by city ordinance, which means they cannot be removed or harmed. They crow at all hours. They wander into restaurants. They are, in their way, part of the character of the place.
Blue Heaven restaurant in Bahama Village has a small cemetery in its courtyard where beloved roosters are buried with handmade headstones. The graves have names, dates, and epitaphs. It is completely sincere.
Blue Heaven itself is worth visiting independently — it occupies a rambling outdoor space in Bahama Village where Hemingway once refereed boxing matches, and the food is genuinely excellent. The rooster cemetery is in the courtyard, marked with small wooden crosses and stones. Live roosters wander among the graves. The whole scene is so Key West it almost feels staged, but it isn't.
Located at Blue Heaven restaurant, 729 Thomas St, Key West, in the Bahama Village neighborhood. Open daily for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. No reservation needed for the courtyard — just walk in. The rooster cemetery is in the back courtyard near the bar. The lobster benedict at brunch is the move. Arrive before 10 AM on weekends to avoid the wait.