The Plaza Restaurant opened on First Street in 1928 and quickly became a popular gathering place for Sarasota’s political, business and financial elite, as well as a group of writers who met at the restaurant every Friday for lunch for 30 years. Liar’s Poker became part of the Friday lunches at some point in the 1960s, and whoever lost the game was responsible for buying the group a round of drinks. A record of the games was kept on random pieces of paper throughout the years, and a plaque "honoring" the Worst Liar of the Year began circulating, as well.
The Plaza closed in the 1980s and reopened as Merlin’s, but closed in 1988.
Photo: Sarasota County History Center