Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Nick’s Bar won’t be open by July 4
If your July 4 plans included soaking in rays and sucking down rum runners from venerable Nick’s Bar and Grill on Hollywood beach before watching the city’s fireworks display, think again. For the first time in more than 40 years, the landmark watering hole on the Broadwalk will be closed during the busy Independence Day holiday.
Renovations that began last August have taken far longer than expected, and the laidback, open-air eatery remains a work in progress.
“It just goes on and on,” coowner Bob Ferro says. “We’re not going to be open by July 4 … We’re hoping for sometime in August.”
What was supposed to be a quick, three-month freshening has turned into a year-long ordeal for Ferro and his brother Carl, who have owned Nick’s since 1980. Just past dawn Tuesday, Bob Ferro arrived at his little folding table in the empty shell of a restaurant with three cigars and a container of manicotti. Every day, he keeps a watchful eye as contractors and workers scurry and toil. The plumb
ing is done and awaits final inspection. The wiring and electrical systems are almost done. Floors need to be finished and leveled, walls and ceilings need to be closed off and kitchen equipment needs to be installed. Roll-down, hurricane-proof windows have yet to make an appearance around the bar.
“You know the story — you think it’s going to be quick and then reality hits,” Robert Bettencourt, a Nick’s manager and Ferro’s nephew, said earlier this year.
Initial work last summer revealed major termite damage and rot from salt water. A near complete tear-down ensued.
The building, at the corner of Minnesota Street and the Broadwalk, dates to the 1940s, when it started as a hot dog stand. It was converted to a bar and restaurant in the late 1970s by a Canadian owner named Nick. The Ferros kept the original name when they bought the restaurant in 1980 after moving from Boston.
Popular with tourists and locals for its cold beers and icy rum runners dispatched through open windows, Nick’s is known for laid-back, Old Florida charm that fits perfectly with beach breezes and summer torpor. Nick’s has been used for scenes in numerous movies including 1981’s “Body Heat” and 2008’s “Marley and Me.”
The restaurant served New England-style seafood such as lobsters, chowder and steamed clams, and the bar stayed open late. Ferro says Nick’s will feature a similar menu and vibe when it reopens.