01/09/2026
Thirty Days in Key West: Day Four
Since I am an islander for the month of June, I'll say "we", as in "we don't have normal little neighborhood grocery stores around here, we have palaces."
As the sign says, Fausto's has been around for 98 years, dispensing bread and milk and mangoes to the masses. Most days there are more bicycles in the parking lot than there are cars, but once inside, don't let the throwback interior fool you. Upon close inspection, you find an imported cheese department three times the size of most, an impressive butcher shop and wine department, and grocery shelves that look like they are straightened and refreshed every hour on the hour. And as for the mangoes - they are in very good company with the best fresh produce South Florida has to offer.
If all that doesn't make this a food palace, then I don't know what.
Photo by Beth Yarbrough.
