Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Ernie’s site to be reborn as Andy’s Live Fire Grill
Iconic barbecue joint had survived 60 years
The former site of Ernie’s Bar-B-Q in Fort Lauderdale will soon be Andy’s Live Fire Grill + Bar. New owner Anthony Bruno says he may offer conch chowder occasionally as a nod to the renowned institution that stood 60 years before closing in 2017, but he doubts he will serve pork sandwiches on Bimini bread.
“I don’t know if we could get the bread right,” Bruno says.
Bruno, the prominent local restaurateur who launched Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza and owns Anthony’s Runway 84, says he hopes to open Andy’s by October.
“Andy was my dad,” Bruno says. “His real name was Anthony, but his nickname was Andy. He owned restaurants and nightclubs in New York, and we’re looking to make this a comfortable, good hangout.”
A “coming soon” banner hangs outside the eatery, at 1843 S. Federal Highway, and workers are renovating the two-story structure, which has two rooftop bars and a ground-level kitchen, dining room and bar. The restaurant is located along the corridor between the airport and Southeast 17th Street/Port Everglades, an area that sees much tourist traffic.
But Bruno says he wants Andy’s to be “a neighborhood place” that appeals to locals and families. Bruno says an open kitchen with a live-fire grill fueled by red oak will be the centerpiece of the new restaurant.
“It’ll be a place where you can get a $14 smoked pastrami sandwich or a $50 steak,” Bruno says. “We’ll have grilled fish and lobster and fresh oysters. And there will also be comfort food, things like chicken pot pie, brisket, stuffed peppers and beef stroganoff.”
Bruno says a talented, young chef well versed in Santa Maria-style barbecue will head the kitchen.
“That’s Santa Maria, not Santeria,” Bruno says. “We’re not going to be whacking live chickens in here.”
Bruno and partner Michael Mozzicato bought the Ernie’s property for $1.45 million from Butch Samp (the Floridian) in March 2017, according to public records. Ernie’s closed near the time of the sale, triggering an outcry from longtime customers who remembered the bootlegging days of founder Ernie Siebert and the original “Dirty Ernie’s” bar, which opened in 1957.
Bruno says he originally intended on leasing out the property, but he decided to launch a restaurant of his own after his involvement with Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza greatly diminished in October.
Bruno says he still sits on the board of directors of the pizza chain, but his consulting contract with the corporate group that bought Anthony’s in 2015 lapsed last year. The chain now has 68 locations in eight states.
Bruno and Mozzicato, the original chef, launched Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza in 2002, a few blocks south of Ernie’s/Andy’s and near Anthony’s Runway 84 on State Road 84.
“I love this area and the neighborhood around it,” Bruno says. “I’m looking forward to starting something new.”