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Our History

Los Cenotes Mexican Restaurant & Cantina started off as The Pit Bar as a quonset hut in 1945 soon after World War II and was truly a Seward institution over the years.

Irwin Corbin bought The Pit Bar in 1965 and owned it until 1977. The Pit Bar was a pretty rowdy place during the early years. Irwin was confronted by a guy in the bar, the guy shot Irwin in the head and robbed him of $200. Irwin survived the robbery and owned The Pit Bar until 1977.

In 1981 Dennis & Davorie Kowalski bought The Pit Bar and owned if for 23 years. We were told that the famous exterior sign of the lady in red sitting in a martini glass was actually a gift that Dennis gave to Davorie. The lady in the glass is supposed to be Davorie.

In July of 2005 The Pit Bar was sold to Frank Dahl, at the time he owned Blues Central a popular bar and live music venue in Anchorage.

Because of the location The Pit Bar could stay open until 5am, which made it really popular nightly during the summer when the bars in downtown Seward had to close at 2am.

May of 2016 Frank Dahl sold The Pit Bar to Jamey "Mitch" McDevitt. Mitch owned in until April of 2025 when we bought it from him and determined to turn it into Los Cenotes Mexican Restaurant & Cantina.