Oceanside Gardens bar the new ‘O.G.’ in Delray Beach
Despite its grocery store disguise on a dark avenue not far from train tracks, Oceanside Grocers bar was easy to find for people looking for something different in Delray Beach.
“It’s a hidden haunt because people would walk up and not know what it is. When you walk inside, there is a whole element of surprise,” said owner Brian Rosen.
The small speakeasy with a retro vibe, also known as the O.G., was open for four years before the pandemic shut it down. But now, 10 months later, the location has reopened — same abbreviation, different name.
“In mid-November the city of Delray Beach passed a temporary outdoor use policy. Now bars are allowed to...have people drink outside. When they did that, that’s when we made the decision to revisit the bar and rebrand,” Rosen said.
The bar’s new name is Oceanside Gardens to highlight the new vibe outside where you can enjoy drinks like their Sky Paloma or a Luna Margarita under the moon.
“We put in 20 benches, planters, orchestrated what plants we wanted and lighting. We had to provide an atmosphere,” Rosen said. “Previously, it just was a 4,000-feet concrete driveway with storage.”
To generate business, Rosen opens his outdoor area early, at 3 p.m. But the bar owner says there is still at least one problem: The city is requiring bars to shut down their outdoor spaces at 9 p.m.
“It’s crazy asking adults, everyone is 21 and older here, ‘OK guys it’s 8:45 I’m going to have to ask you to pay your tab and leave or go inside’,” said Rosen, who prefers to host his guests outside because of COVID-19.
“For us, it’s safer to host people, safer for our staff, just to provide a better environment for people,” he said.
Delray Beach eateries have different rules than bars. The city permits restaurants, even those that sell alcohol, to use their outdoor spaces during all hours of operation.
Rosen is planning to capitalize on that rule by bringing on a restaurant partner. He is in talks with Taquiza Tacos, a Mexican-themed eatery with a location in North Beach.
“Taquiza does have an agreement with O.G. to operate once the space is converted to house us,” said restaurant spokesperson Aubrey Swanson.
Rosen says the plan is to open up Taquiza Tacos at Oceanside Gardens in six months to a year, expanding the Mexican restaurant’s South Florida stamp while helping Rosen keep his outdoor space open longer and pay the bills.