New hot spot emerging
Lauderdale-by-the-Sea drawing new crowds of young people
It’s 9 p.m. beachside and you’re feeling the breezy buzz of a few natural craft cocktails. You stop, look around, adjust your vision and realize the majority of people aren’t tourists, 65 and older.
This is Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, right?
LBTS, that very chill, ocean-kissed location where Commercial Boulevard meets colorful beach chairs, has long been known for snowbirds, seniors and New England Patriots fans.
But like a sexy finger luring in a crowd, several LBTS destinations are bringing a vibe equally attractive to a mix of youthful locals and visitors, and it shows. Stephani Moravi, a server at 101 Ocean restaurant and bar,
says she has seen a gradual change of demographic over the past six years.
“There were usually older people between 40 to 60. It was a retirement area I feel like. Now it’s gotten where... you see a lot of younger people here because they work here and a lot of people do go to school in this area,” said Moravi. “I see a lot of 18to 25-year-olds just hanging out and being part of the area as well.”
These days, sidewalks on weekends are often packed with a multi-generational mix of people. Even teens have claimed the place as a popular hangout, wandering around in TikTok-ing packs.
“I definitely see that shift,” said Gregory Genias, also known as BootlegGreg, the mixologist who created the beverage program at the newly opened Even Keel Fish Shack.
The restaurant opened on the southeast corner of Commercial Boulevard and Ocean Drive. The team’s goal is to bring an elevated culinary experience with fair prices — scoring high with tourists, but winning over locals too.
“You still have the Arubas and Mulligans. They’ve been around in Lauderdale-bythe-Sea for a long time and they still have that clientele that go there. Then you have us, on the cutting edge. What we think Lauderdale-bythe-Sea is eventually,” said Genias, who was born in Jamaica and brought a fresh island outlook with him.
The mixologist’s beverage menu highlights health conscious cocktails like his Gin & Juice made with Glendalough Botanical Gin, mango, turmeric, ginger and tarragon ($12). And the push for better ingredients doesn’t mean higher prices. Genias and the team at Even Keel are aiming for an experience many can enjoy, not a select few.
“I think we are starting a trend where other restaurants will be forced to look at what they are doing and see that they’ve been doing the same thing for a bunch of years and it’s time for a transition and we are leading that charge,” said Genias.
Chef-owner David MacLennan helped conceptualize the casual spinoff of Even Keel Fish and Oyster restaurant in Fort Lauderdale, which closed in December because of the pandemic. His approach to food is also about inclusivity and fresh, local ingredients.
“Doing stuff that’s modern American, chef-driven in that moderate price point where it’s not a total dive, but it’s also not a sit-downand-order a $45 snapper dish,” said MacLennan.
And he’s placing his bets, not on the traditional tourists, but on the burgeoning locals.
“Anywhere you go, if you live in a good neighborhood, you are not going to stray from that too often,” said the chef whose lobster rolls are getting most of the attention.
And just across the boulevard sits Tacocraft Taqueria and Tequila Bar, which marked a major tide shift for LBTS two years ago. The tall Day of the Dead façade and brightly colored umbrellas gives the northeast corner of Commercial Boulevard and Ocean Drive a vibe that’s hard to miss and if you’re local - you definitely noticed.
“Tacocraft gives you a completely different element in Lauderdale-Bythe-Sea than what anybody else was doing,” said Marc Falsetto, one of Tacocraft’s partners. “We bring in everything from our comfort Mexican food that’s all scratch made. We have over 10 different craft cocktails, homemade margaritas. We don’t use any sour mix; we squeeze our own lime juice. Millennials and younger consumers are really looking for that element; everything homemade everything from scratch all using fresh products, local produce.”
It was hook, line and sinker for 25-year-old Margaret Quinn, visiting from Long Island, New York.
“It feels like an island. The palm trees, the beach, the restaurants. It’s great,” said Quinn, who was surprised to learn Lauderdale-by-the-sea skewed older.
“I do not know the history, but I wouldn’t put this as a retirement community. I would never know that. We’ll definitely be back,” she said.
Falsetto’s partner Paul Marzano has owned a home in the area for 20 years and he says younger people are coming to LBTS not just to have a place to go out, but to purchase properties from older generations passing on.
“I see a change in the age group of people moving in,” said Marzano. “Between the Galt and Lauderdale-by-the-Sea there is a change, there’s younger people.”
Marzano has also seen the increase in foot traffic over the years and an influx of foreigners — not from the north. Not snowbirds, but sun birds (or tropical birds?), if you will.
“There is a South American group that frequents and owns in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea and they come up in the summertime. And in the past the summer was always very quiet. With the South American influence it seems it generates a lot more business all year round,” said Marzano.
And sealing this mason jar of what’s now cool and hip, Billy Jack’s Shack, just west of Ocean Drive on Commercial Boulevard, came into town a few years before Tacocraft. The low key bar and restaurant is probably the most hipster of them all.
If the Chevy coming through the wall of the bar isn’t a statement, then perhaps a 9:30 a.m. yoga class that’s offered inside the restaurant just hours before their Sunday Funday, Bottomless brunch, might be.