This bar made Wynwood a cool late-night destination; now it’s closing for good
The first cool place in Wynwood is closing its doors.
Wood Tavern, one of the pioneers in bringing nightlife to Miami’s industrial neighborhood, will close on March 14 after nearly 10 years in business, the bar’s owner said. Rising rents, seating restrictions to limit the spread of the coronavirus and a curfew that affected the business as a late-night venue made profitability impossible, he said.
“From a business standpoint, it was very black and white. The numbers no longer worked,” owner Cesar Morales said. “But the outpouring from people sharing their memories has been overwhelming.”
Morales broke news on the bar’s and his personal Instagram accounts. He said that the bar’s employees will have jobs at his company’s upcoming concept, Pizza and Beer, a
little more than three blocks away.
“The landlords did work with me and no one wanted to see this happen,” Morales wrote on Instagram. “You guys did what you could, and I understand it’s business and it simply got to the point where there was no way to make the numbers work.”
Wood Tavern opened in November 2011 at 2531 NW 2nd Ave., joining Wynwood Kitchen and
Bar and Panther Coffee as the first destinations in a neighborhood known for cheap art gallery space, warehouses and homes with weed-strew lawns.
“What drew me to Wynwood was the rawness,” said Morales, who started out with a printing company in the neighborhood.
Wood was among the area’s first gentrifiers, ushering in a wave of outside interest in Wynwood, from craft breweries to restaurants. Wood Tavern was a late-night destination, with a wide patio where $1 tacos kept a night-owl crowd fueled well into third and fourth drinks. Lines regularly stretched around the block as Wynwood became
South Florida’s new hot spot. The success of places like Wood brought in major investors, turning Wynwood into an international destination and a backdrop of colorful murals for selfies.
And that, in turn, pushed out the early adopter hipster crowd as new housing, office space and retail outlets moved in.
Morales’ Miami Bar
Group continues to find nightlife spaces in older Miami neighborhoods. They recently opened a concept similar in spirit to Wood, Tayrona
Restaurant and Patio, in nearby Allapattah, which investors have spent the last two years marking for redevelopment. The group also owns Las Rosas bar, a spot that straddles the border between Wynwood and Allapattah.
His new restaurant, Pizza and Beer, which opens March 17 at 144 NW 23rd St., will employ all of Wood’s staff. Adapting to the new limits, Pizza and Beer will be centered around a large beer garden, serving Neapolitanstyle pizzas, with a full bar, he said.
7:30 PM (SYFY) MOVIE The Fifth Element Bruce Willis stars in this French-made 1997 futuristic action film. After a prologue about a set of five totems discovered in 1914, the action leaps forward 300 years. With a planet headed for impact with Earth, an evil overlord (Gary Oldman) prepares to battle a high priest (Ian Holm) with knowledge of the totems. Willis, a flying-taxi driver, lends his fists to the fray. Milla Jovovich and Luke Perry also star.
8PM (LIFE) MOVIE Circle of Deception Another in Lifetime’s series of “ripped from the headlines” crime dramas, this new movie opens as Russell Douglas (Paul
McGillion), a resident in a small island community, is found dead the day after Christmas. Among the suspects is Brenna Douglas (Jill Morrison), the estranged and soonto-be ex-wife of the deceased, who frequently had complained to her best friend that Russell was physically and emotionally abusive. Diane Neal, Tahmoh Penikett and Tamara Tunie also star.
8PM (HBO) MOVIE Rocky Sylvester Stallone rose to superstardom with this 1976 blockbuster about a small-time boxer who reclaims his self-respect by taking on the world heavyweight champion
(Carl Weathers) in a well-hyped title bout. Taking his long shot seriously, he prepares with the help of a wise old trainer (Burgess Meredith). The recently deceased John G. Avildsen won an Oscar for directing the film, which was named best picture.
8 PM (TCM) MOVIE Gandhi Eight Academy Awards, including the prize for best picture, helped send this 1982 biography on its way to becoming one of the most respected films of all time. Richard Attenborough — who took the best-director honor — weaves the story of Mahatma Gandhi, the lawyer and pacifist who led India to independence. Ben Kingsley’s powerful performance in the title role earned him the Oscar for best actor. Candice Bergen, John Gie gud and Martin Sheen also star 9PM (SHO) MOVIE Becky Teen age actress Lulu Wilson (“Sharp Objects”) earned critical praise for her starring performance in this 2020 thriller co-directed by Jonathan Milott and Cary Murn which casts her as 13-year-old Becky Hooper, whose rustic we end with her widowed father, J (Joel McHale), takes a terrifying turn when their lakefront home is invaded by a Neo-Nazi (a cas against-type Kevin James) and fellow prison escapees. Amand Brugel and Robert Maillet also featured.