Fort Lauderdale’s popular open-air watering hole The Wharf will close Aug. 31 to allow for renovations that its owners say will make the 5-year-old pop-up venue a “permanent fixture” on its prized piece of downtown real estate on the New River.
Since its 2019 debut in the epicenter of Fort Lauderdale’s tower-filled downtown core, The Wharf has seemed like a temporary placeholder for something else, destined to meet the same fate as its sister location in Miami, which closed last September to make way for a multimillion-dollar hotel and hospitality project, Riverside Wharf.
But the owner of both properties, Miami-based Breakwater Hospitality Group, is doubling-down on its investment in Fort Lauderdale, where business has “exceeded our expectations,” Breakwater cofounder Emi Guerra says.
“Business is great, especially for a time like this. We hope with the renovations and with some new energy it’ll be even better,” he says.
The refinements will range from adding new bars and upgrading food vendors to replacing floors and turf, and other general maintenance to the space that, apart from a pandemic break, has operated seven days a week since it opened five years ago. The Wharf is scheduled to close after business on Saturday, Aug. 31, and reopen on a date to-be-determined in the fall.
Guerra calls the renovation “a venue refresh, so it feels new again.”
Impermanence is a way of life in South Florida, and no one is promising The Wharf will be there forever, but Guerra is optimistic about the near future. The landowner, Fort Lauderdale native Dev Motwani and Merrimac Ventures, holds multiple properties in the area and is also a partner in The Wharf (and Riverside Wharf).
“We’re reinvesting in it, because we plan on hopefully being there another five years,” Guerra says.
The Wharf sits on property that was once home to Las Olas Riverfront, a hulking shopping and entertainment complex that opened in 1998. Riverfront struggled to attract visitors and spent years in various stages of abandonment before it was torn down in 2017.
Surrounded by a number of new residential high-rises, The Wharf did what Riverfront could not: make downtown Fort Lauderdale cool. It drew more than 1 million patrons its first year and continues to be a go-to waterside spot for relaxing, family friendly fun by day and energetic late-night dining and drinking.
The Wharf doesn’t charge a cover, and there is no exorbitant food and drink minimum or bottle charge for a table.
“I don’t want to say we’re recession-proof, because I don’t think anybody is, but our business format allows for people to not feel the pressure of having to spend too much money,” Guerra says.
The Wharf Fort Lauderdale
The Wharf Fort Lauderdale is a popular nightspot, but also a relaxing place to spend an afternoon. (The Wharf Fort Lauderdale/Courtesy)
Guerra has seen the headlines about restaurant closures in the city, and acknowledges that people are spending less “frivolously” these days. But he’s bullish on the local hospitality industry.
He cites a recent report by Fort Lauderdale’s Downtown Development Authority that found an increase in restaurant reservations in the city this year that tops the national average, as well as a steady rise in foot traffic on the Las Olas Boulevard tourist corridor.
“Fort Lauderdale is thriving, even in the downturn, there are plenty of places that are really busy,” he says.
In addition to The Wharf, Guerra and Breakwater cofounder Alex Mantecon operate the new open-air waterfront venue Pier 5 in Bayside in Miami, Regatta Grove in Coconut Grove, Irish pub JohnMartin’s in Coral Gables, and the Carousel Club at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach.
The Wharf will precede its temporary closing with two weekends of special events culminating in a Labor Day Weekend blowout. For information and reservations, visit WharfFTL.com.
Staff writer Ben Crandell can be reached at bcrandell@sunsentinel.com. Follow on Instagram @BenCrandell and Twitter @BenCrandell.
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