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.
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico — From the outside, it looks like the kind of unassuming watering hole you’d find in many places along the U.S.-Mexico border. But a few steps inside the Kentucky Club reveal an iconic bar that’s served drinks to generations of visitors – and is (maybe) the source of what’s become the margarita.
The club, located in the heart of this busy industrial city, is like other landmarks in Mexican border cities that have claimed culinary firsts, like Cesar’s in Tijuana, where, in the 1920s, Cesar Cardini surprised patrons with a savory salad that started with a lowly pile of lettuce. In Matamoros, across from Brownsville, it’s the Drive Inn known for its surf and turf, the surf represented by giant bacon-wrapped and cheese-stuffed gulf shrimp. In Nuevo Laredo, the famous Cadillac Bar was renowned for its Ramos Gin Fizz. And on the other side of the river from Del Rio in Ciudad Acuña: the dive-ish Mrs. Crosby’s, or Ma Crosby’s, had a loyal following and was featured in George Strait’s song “Blame it on Mexico.”
There’s always been debate over some of the “firsts” and “world famous.” But that did not keep throngs of patrons from filling so many wood and Naugahyde booths and barstools.
The undisputed truth, however, is that the collection of border bars and restaurants, alluring with their invitations to equal parts camaraderie and adventure, are all gone, victims of changing times and tastes. Except for the Kentucky Club.
As tensions between the U.S. and Mexico percolate, the Kentucky Club is the only legendary bar still standing along the border, and a tempting reminder that even the thorniest of issues can be ironed out over a margarita. Or at least just enjoy.
This is especially true during Mexico’s holiday season, which starts in September with Independence Day celebrations. That’s followed by Day of the Dead at the end of October, the feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe on December 12, and culminates with Christmas.
“We seem to get more people from across the border looking to celebrate” Mexico’s Independence celebrations in September, bartender Teodoro Morales said. “Otherwise, it’s the same curiosity: Looking for the perfect margarita.”
For visitors from neighboring Texas and the United States, the bar remains a must, and at least on the El Paso-Ciudad Juarez border, the welcoming gateway to Mexico.
“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 on a Saturday afternoon.
“Beautiful, beautiful place, gorgeous place, excited to be here,” Bernardi added.
“I heard they have the best margaritas. They invented the margarita, right?” Brancher asked with a laugh.
OK, it’s hard to determine 100%, but the club’s owners and staff swear they’re the keepers of the original margarita.
And, really, it doesn’t matter. Diehard patrons insist that it’s the legend that counts, as does a binational feel that throws back to a time when it was easy to cross the border to shop, dine and share a nightcap.
“The Kentucky Club has soul,” said Rich Wright, an El Pasoan who offers walking tours of Ciudad Juarez — including one guided stroll that features 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 hop from the Paso del Norte International Bridge connecting El Paso and Ciudad Juarez. A bright, green sign at the entrance spares the modesty, announcing the “World famous Kentucky Club.”
Like many of the historic border bars that catered to Americans in decades past, the Kentucky Club dates back to the 1920s Prohibition in the United States. Inside, the walls pay homage to Mexico’s Golden Era of film with grainy pictures of the country’s famous screen stars, including Maria Felix and Jorge Negrete. Iconic American actors and entertainers line the walls too, including Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Jim Morrison and Mick Jagger.
When Kentucky bourbon was banned north of the border, U.S. customers knew they could cross the border and find the drink at the club’s crowded bar.
Business was so good that, during prohibition, a distillery temporarily relocated to Ciudad Juarez to provide a steady supply of bourbon. “Americans came from all over the country to these border towns to enjoy a legal drink in a bar,” said Wright, the tour guide.
Despite the storied history, the club has struggled. After 9-11, Americans became leery of the tight security and long inspection lines at the international bridges and crossings. New crossing requirements caught many off guard, such as the need for a U.S. passport or visa to return home.
Others were scared off during a wave of drug violence: cartel members and rival gangs battled for control of lucrative contraband smuggling routes. The widespread bloodshed killed business at iconic border bars that relied on tourists. Gangsters made it worse, demanding protection money from bar owners.
Then, more recently, the pandemic forced the Kentucky Club and other places in Juarez to close temporarily. But when it reopened, the bar became a refuge for El Pasoans and other Americans who were tired of being cooped up at home. Despite precautions, the social distancing and all the masks, COVID-19 claimed the life of Kentucky Club owner Sergio Peña in July 2020 — the year the bar was supposed to celebrate 100 years in business.
Through the hardships, the club has found a way to survive — even thrive. It may be the proximity to an international bridge, but for sure it’s the famous margaritas.
As he mixed a margarita, Morales, the bartender, said the signature drink was created in 1942, at the request of a customer. Back then, he remembered, it was not considered ladylike to drink straight tequila. “That’s why a husband wanted the bartender to make his wife a special drink,” Morales said. She loved it and asked for the name. “What’s your name?’’ the bartender asked. “Margarita,” she replied.
The legend grew from there, spreading on both sides of the border and becoming an international bar staple. While fans can find margaritas pretty much anywhere, they don’t taste quite the same as inside the Kentucky Club.
“Mostly because of tradition and the attention to service,” said Alejandro Acosta, a 45-year-old Juarez native who’s been a club patron for all of his adult life.
Newer to the club, El Paso resident Marina Streep says the lure is more than the tequila. It’s finding a place where time can stand still for a bit, long enough for family and friends to enjoy a lunch of quesadillas and flautas, and soak in the festive air. “I love it. I love the food. I love the people. I love the music.”
That’s the cue for a favorite on the jukebox: A customer had asked waiter Oscar Chavez for a local favorite. He selected one of the club’s most popular songs — a tune that routinely kicks off a bar-wide sing-along — about Juarez’s long-gone and equally famous Noa Noa bar. Legendary singer Juan Gabriel immortalized that place, where he got his start singing on Avenida Juarez down the street from the Kentucky Club. El Noa Noa has since shut down. Not the Kentucky Club.
“The Kentucky will never die,” Chavez said. “It has a lot of history.”