The Alley

This is a nice, quaint bar that is set up for live music. Tonight Doc and the Brothers of Blues were playing. I was here for a birthday party. It was a great place for a party. There are plenty of tables and chairs. There is a dance floor and full service bar. Unfortunately, there was no food tonight. They sold out earlier during a catering event… what a missed opportunity. Where is Bar Rescue when you need them lol. The word on the street is that they have really good Barbecue.

The Alley is non smoking new room with plenty of seating. Awesome bar with great music!

I’ve been going to this place for years! Under new management they have made some changes! It used to be more of a hole in the wall where I used hide! They have put more lights in, not sure why but eh life evolves… The music here is second to none. It’s the reason to go! Wanna go back in time? Then this is the spot! I never have a bad time here.

I’ve been to The Alley many times and I really love it. At first it’s sort of reminds you of a biker bar but that’s certainly NOT the case. They have some of the best blues and jazz local artists come through. Saturday night when we were there, there was a great band playing, as usual, and it was not as crowded so we stopped by for a drink. They do allow smoking in this bar but since it was not packed the smoke smell was not bad at all and they always leave the front door open to get some fresh air in.
The band allowed someone from the crowd to get up and play the guitar and I don’t know who this kid was but he was AMAZING!!! He really got the crowd going and I actually wanted to stay longer to watch him but he only played the one song.
The bartenders are VERY friendly and the regulars are just as nice. It’s a great place to go and there’s always a mixed crowd. There is one pool table in the back and tables adjacent to the bar. I will be visiting again when I’m in Sanford.

I went to The Alley Friday ⁴⁄₁₉ to catch the insanely talented Damon Fowler. There was a $ 5 cover, but so worth it.
The Alley is a great place to catch some laid back live music with drinks. The bartenders are always really great and on top of things.
Friday night the place was packed, I’m sure they were near if not over capacity. Not a good place for a large group. It got very hot in there, too. They had the a.c. going, but you could only feel it if you were directly under the vent. Made the beers get hot fast :(
The place was packed, but the bartenders (there were only 2 – 3) kept up pretty well.
They recently added a stage towards the back of the bar (it used to be right by the front door). I kind of wish they would put it more centrally. If you are on the front end of the bar on a busy night you can not see the stage at all.
The atmosphere is divey, bluesy, bikerish (a lot of weekend warriors).
You can write on the walls.
Bathroom is clean, but only 1 toilet per gender.
Damon killed it, as usual. Can’t wait for another great night of blues at The Alley.

great bands and nice b-​tenders. a good old dive bar with and when they have strong live music, like The Betty Fox Band they go from good to great. Wish they either banned smoking or purchased a smoke eater. Smelled like a dirty cig when I left up in smoke.

Cool vibe — kind of trashy, Southern-​rock, been there, done that kind of place — live music, hot waitpeople, and a comfortable laid-​back relaxed environemnt. Go for Alive @ 5 on the street and enjoy the music outside — nice place to just hang out and catch up.

Do you like dive bars? Then definitely go here.
The Alley is Sanford’s equivalent to Bar BQ Bar here in Orlando, i.e. full liquor, there is handwritten graffiti is ALL over the walls, seems like it’d have a perennial dirty vibe even if they mopped the place hourly…
There is a small stage at the front of the bar that has a live blues band Thurs-​Sun. I wish we could have seen that action but we went on an off night. Apparently they get the Harley (motorcycle) crowd often times too.
A few tables and couches fill out the main room, and there’s a dartboard in the back corner. Possibly a pool table too, I don’t recall. The bartender was friendly, if not a bit pushy. (Don’t ask me if I need another beer when I have ½ a beer sitting in your plain field of vision.)
Bathroom was also heavily graffiti’d and the hand soap looked like Valvoline. Weerd.