A mere 2 days shy of two years ago today, The Wharf Miami opened its doors on November 10, 2017, straddling the historic Miami River with a 30,000sf expanse of bars, food trucks and a feel-good party vibe downtown Miami hadn’t seen since Seaspice (née Seasalt & Pepper) debuted years prior. With its flip flops, (artificial) grass between your toes, and ping pong casualness, The Wharf’s success was immediate as boaters and Brickellites swarmed the joint because it felt like a pirate outpost in a condo canyon.
Now the genie’s coming out of the bottle again with this weekend’s debut of The Wharf Fort Lauderdale, located on the historic Riverwalk waterfront section of downtown’s Tarpon River. Where is it exactly? It’s at the intersection of West Las Olas Boulevard and South Andrews Avenue.
MiMi is delighted to bring you an exclusive behind the scenes look as an army of workers put the finishing touches on the expansive bar & restaurant complex, which opens tonight at 6pm. And of course, nonstop opening weekend festivities will follow.
Designed by Miami’s Heather Read, whose aesthetic of Hamptons minimalist nautical chic is crisp and stunning in person, this new Wharf injects a fresh vibrancy into Lauderdale’s downtown like never before.
Masterminded by Miami’s nightlife tycoon Emi Guerra and his partner Alex Mantecon, this new Wharf in Broward sits on a bigger piece of land, has a bigger tent, and a bigger marina for boaters. Bigger is better, allowing the space to breathe. Like Miami, this Wharf has multiple bars and food options, plenty of lush greenery, lots of shade nooks, adirondack chairs, picnic tables, romantic nighttime string lighting, and plenty of onsite games like ping pong and cornhole bean bag sets. Dog friendly, there’s even multiple whimsical dog stations.
Best yet, there are 5 restaurants onsite, including Chef José Mendin’s The Piefather pizza, Lunchroom by Eliot Wolfe, Even Keel by Dean Max, Temple Street’s Hou Mei by Alex Kuk and Diego Ng, and Mojo Donuts & Fried Chicken.
If you love the Wharf, they have a fantastic merch collection at Merchcloud.