BLUE FRONT CLOSING BUT CATERING SURVIVES
July 4 will be final day for BBQ joint; catering site is next.
LAKE WORTH — After nearly five years in business, Blue Front BBQ Bar and Grille, the Art Deco barbecue restaurant on North Dixie Highway, will close on July 4 but will reopen the next day as a catering business.
“The restaurant just wasn’t going the way I wanted it to,” said John Paladino, the site’s 28-year-old owner who leases the space. “There’s a lack of a really cool catering venue, so that’s what I’m going for.”
Paladino, son of David Paladino, the man who laid the groundwork for City Place, declined to give details on Blue Front’s financial situation.
“There’s a lot to put into a restaurant,” Paladino said. “It’s a 25-hour-a-day job, and I’m the executive chef as well.”
Blue Front took over from the former Jetsetter Lounge at the site.
Paladino said he has more than five events lined up for the unnamed catering business, but he didn’t want to name them.
“I don’t have the signed contracts yet,” Paladino said.
As for the new business, Paladino said the building will be changed for the new company. He said a new name should be found soon.
“We’ve had some soft ideas, but we’re not positive yet,” he said.
City Commissioner Omari Hardy applauded Paladino’s move.
“If I were them, quite frankly, I’d be doing the same thing,” he said. “They have a great outdoor space they can rent out.”
Commissioner Herman Robinson, although not a barbecue fan, said the spot is a perfect catering venue.
“They’ve always treated the neighborhoods well,” he said.
Resident Craig Frost said people will be disappointed to see Blue Front go, but he said the outside area is really nice.
The restaurant’s outdoor garden, where tables are set among palm trees and bamboo, was the site’s selling point, Paladino said.
But with all the rain, that point was washed away.
“Business came to a halt,” he said. “The rain just got us talking because it’s been so horrible the past month. The garden was our draw, so all this rain really hurt us.”
Paladino noted how Park Avenue BBQ Grille, just a few blocks from Blue Front, closed a few years ago.
“And they were the kingpin for a successful barbecue restaurant,” he said.
Saito’s, the Japanese restaurant on North J Street, closed last week, as did Kilwins, the popular chocolate store on Lake Avenue, because of increasing rents.
Paladino said his 12 employees will be called in for special events. He said he’ll have one full-time worker.
“There’s a need for a really cool catering facility in Lake Worth,” he said. “I’m ready to go.”