Bringing back the glory days: Fort Lauderdale aims to remake Himmarshee Village

FORT LAUDERDALE — Alive and thriving by night, dead and lifeless by day.

Critics say that’s the current vibe at Himmarshee Village, a trendy spot that once drew crowds not only at high noon but well after sunset with its upscale dining spots and hip bars.

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People bounce from bar to bar in historic Himmarshee Village during Spring Break in downtown Fort Lauderdale’s entertainment district on Thursday, March 20, 2025. (Scott Luxor / Contributor)

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Those days are long gone.

Now it’s primarily a bar scene that lights up a few hours before midnight and stays rocking until 4 a.m., critics say. During the day, it’s pretty much a ghost town.

The bars along Himmarshee Street are typically closed during the day, said Tim Petrillo, a developer and restaurateur who owns property in the area. The few that are open might have a few customers, if they’re lucky.

Then there’s the not-so-pleasant smells: Walking down the street, you might be hit with the scent of stale beer, if not other stenches.

“It smells dirty. The sidewalks are not clean,” Petrillo said. “It’s become a place where you have all these people cruising up and down the street, playing loud music.”

It’s not exactly what the neighborhood envisioned for a high-profile area as significant as downtown Fort Lauderdale’s historic entertainment district, with the Broward Center for the Performing Arts a few blocks to the west and the popular tree-lined Riverwalk just a block to the south.

Vice Mayor Steve Glassman, the district commissioner for the neighborhood, says he’d like to see the crucial corridor return to its former days as a prime destination bustling with crowds both day and night.

“My goal is to revitalize that area in a way to make it active like it was years ago,” Glassman said. “Years ago people would have lunch on Himmarshee and then catch a matinee at the Broward Center of the Performing Arts or go to the Museum of Discovery and Science. Now it’s just a midnight to 4 a.m. party place where there’s no one there during the day.”

The scene in Fort Lauderdale's Himmarshee Village Thursday night during Spring Break. (Scott Luxor/Contributor)
People bounce from bar to bar in historic Himmarshee Village during Spring Break in downtown Fort Lauderdale’s entertainment district on Thursday, March 20, 2025. (Scott Luxor / Contributor)

Rocking bar scene

Fort Lauderdale began looking at ways to revitalize the area soon after Glassman broached the topic in 2023 during the city’s annual goal-setting workshop. An outside consultant was hired to help come up with a plan that included possibly revamping the rules of the Himmarshee entertainment district.

The bars on Himmarshee Street can stay open till 4 a.m. City officials are now looking at whether to require an earlier closing time.

Customers also are allowed to roam from bar to bar cocktail in hand due to the relaxed open-container restrictions. That might also change. But not yet.

The plan is still under review as the city seeks input from business owners, property owners and residents.

“I want to look at the area holistically,” Glassman said. “I want to look at the historic district and the neighborhood association — not just that one street. I want everyone to be at the table.”

Under the current zoning code, building heights in the area are capped at 25 feet. That might warrant changing too, Glassman said, noting that taller buildings would pave the way for more residents and new life.

“I’d like to maintain the historic character on the street but do something clever to develop something to the rear of the building that makes sense,” he said. “You preserve the historic building and develop something new behind it. We need to get more people to populate that area. And I think that will change the character of that street.”

The vibe on Himmarshee Street started to change more than a decade ago as restaurants flipped into bars, observers say.

‘It was the glory days’

Ted Inserra, a former chef at the now closed Himmarshee Bar and Grille, remembers when the street was hopping, both day and night.

“The bars and streets were packed with people,” he said. “It was the glory days. We did so much business on theater night — we had a fast pickup menu so the people wouldn’t be late to the Performing Arts Center. Now you don’t see those people anymore. There’s no real restaurants for them to go to.”

Back then, the clientele was culinary-minded, the streets cleaner and the sidewalk aroma less potent.

“The buildings now are just so rundown,” Inserra said. “They need a face-lift and a cleanup. It’s just ugly. They need to flip some of the bars back to restaurants.”

Fort Lauderdale's Himmarshee Village, shown on Thursday, has no problem attracting a crowd at night. But city leaders want the area to draw daytime crowds too. (Scott Luxor/Contributor)
Fort Lauderdale’s Himmarshee Village, shown on Thursday, has no problem attracting a crowd at night. But city leaders want the area to draw daytime crowds too. (Scott Luxor/Contributor)

Time to turn things around

Petrillo, CEO and founder of The Restaurant People, says he sold his Tarpon Bend building on Himmarshee Street in 2018 because he saw where the area was heading.

“I saw the writing on the wall,” he said. “I knew this plane was going down. My patrons are trying to dine outside and they’ve got music blaring across the street and motorcycles parking down there revving their engines. No one wants to be outside eating dinner with all that going on.”

Petrillo still owns buildings on Himmarshee Street.

“I still believe in the area,” he said. “I’m still hoping the city is going to step in and clean this up. They need to get rid of the entertainment district. It’s become a bar district. And that’s going to attract a different kind of crowd.”

Developer Charlie Ladd, a board member on Fort Lauderdale’s Downtown Development Authority, remembers the good ol’ days.

“Himmarshee started out as a cool neighborhood hangout with nice restaurants and some nice bars,” Ladd said. “It was this charming street. Back then they called it a hip urban block. Now people walking out of ‘Hamilton’ at the Broward Center can’t get out of there fast enough. They should have a street they can walk down and have a nice dinner.

Ladd suggests the city get rid of the 4 a.m. closing time sooner rather than later.

“It’s time to make Himmarshee Street a place people want to go again,” he said. “It’s time to fix it. It’s time to turn this area around.”

Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com. Follow me on X @Susannah_Bryan

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