It's not easy
Posted
#312289
(In Topic #42139)
VIP DONOR
Member since 2007
I heard Hooligans bar closed.
Not sure how Black Rose is doing, but I actually liked the atmosphere of the place that was there before (Boardriders) though the food sucked.
A number of my friends were big Lodge fans and that place has changed, what, two times now? It turned into a specialty burger place and then into a… noodle bar?..I think they're a noodle bar now. We haven't been back since it closed as the Lodge.
SCOOP was a popular college bar in Orlando but it opened here in Boca and died out pretty much a month later. I'd say it's a cursed location but O'Brians is flourishing only a couple doors down.
Part of the problem with all those places is a dearth of parking around there. It's so hard to find a spot.
Anyway, I bring this up to underscore how great it is when bars like Night Owl are able to survive because it's hard to draw in people and retain them, and furthermore to see what that could mean for the businesses that open up along 20th Street/University Blvd in the future.
It's not just Boca, either. Over the 18 months that I lived in Gainesville, several bars/restaurants opened and closed downtown. Some of them were popular. Some of them were cool concepts. There was a laser tag bar that has since changed into an arcade bar and according to my friends who are still up there, attendance dropped drastically.
It's unpredictable what will last, and even if Night Owl cements itself over the next five years, will people still want to go down there if 20th Street has a string of bars that are closer? Wonder if any of the "big ones" might consider moving to a new location along 20th if that really takes off.
Posted
Wise Owl
Member since 2012
Re: It's not easy
In Boca, the Black Rose is my go-to spot whenever I go out. The female bartenders are hot, treat me like a regular and I generally enjoy the crowd they attract. I really hope they make it but it'd be awesome if bars like Black Rose were on 20th. I had some friends come down to visit and when we went out they suggested bars near campus. Sadly, I had to tell them we'd be better off downtown.
Posted
VIP DONOR
Member since 2007
Re: It's not easy
The reason why the places along University do so well is because it's so walkable. There are a number of places (Swamp, Balls, Firehouse Subs, etc) that were a stone's throw from the Plaza of the Americas (UF's main quad). You cross one simple four lane street and bam, you can eat and drink. Walk down a couple blocks and you're in downtown. That's why it's so successful there and though FAU won't have quite the same convenience, we could approximate it with the 20th Street expansion and any eastward expansion of University Commons.
The upside right now is even if they built a couple places along 20th, there's still plenty of parking in that Plum Plaza… though it's currently for sale. The owners might have seen what happened next door and thought, "Hey, I could dump this off to some developer to build another dorm too!"
Posted
VIP DONOR
Member since 2009
Re: It's not easy
Posted
VIP DONOR
Member since 2007
Re: It's not easy
Andrew said
I can't see Night Owl having much more of a future. They live and die with the college crowd — and with the recent police presence, it isn't helping. One Boca PD officer told me they are seeking to shut the place down.
I sincerely hope this isn't true but I have a feeling you're right about this. Is it because of underage drinking? Or does Boca PD just have an agenda?
If they keep singling out every new college bar and running all the students off, we're never going to be able to build a college street here.
Posted
Wise Owl
Member since 2011
Re: It's not easy
Posted
VIP DONOR
Member since 2009
Re: It's not easy
It's not easy
Owl2Doc said
Andrew said
I can't see Night Owl having much more of a future. They live and die with the college crowd — and with the recent police presence, it isn't helping. One Boca PD officer told me they are seeking to shut the place down.
I sincerely hope this isn't true but I have a feeling you're right about this. Is it because of underage drinking? Or does Boca PD just have an agenda?
I think it has to do with underage drinking, they have raided the place a few times recently.
Posted
Wise Owl
Member since 2008
Re: It's not easy
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