If you've been hearing live music on the formerly quiet corner of NW First Ave. and West Las Olas Blvd., your ears are not deceiving you. On January 10, Crafti Bar opened for business, bringing reggae band Fourth Dimension every Friday night, rock band Late Bird every last Saturday of the month, and a variety of other music themed nights from jazz to old school hip-hop.
"We called the bar Crafti because we're serving craft cocktails and craft beers," explained the bar's co-owner Will Page. His establishment offers a menu with fourteen signature cocktails along with eight signature shooters. Page moved to South Florida by way of France and is very pleased that they were able to open Crafti Bar where they did. "We were originally thinking of opening it in South Beach, but that fell through. We're fortunate we got this spot instead because now instead of tourists at South Beach we get to focus on locals. Fort Lauderdale is a lively young city. People like to come out and party even on a weekday."
Page hopes they can give Crafti Bar a Wynwood vibe. "We had a Wynwood artist paint one of the walls with a disco monkey, a rocker monkey, and a reggae monkey. We're going to have another wall featuring buffalos playing cards."
As he spoke, Page was preparing for what he hoped to be the first of many Vintage Beats Party nights with soul, funk, and old school hip-hop, including sounds from Outkast, A Tribe Called Quest, and Wu-Tang Clan, to name a few. This Saturday will feature rock from Zro to Sixty and Saturday, March 17 reggae jazz by Royal Majestique Band will bring the room to life.
Page is excited to bring an eclectic mix of music to Fort Lauderdale. If money were no object and he could bring any musician to play Crafti Bar it would be "Slash or Lenny Kravitz because ladies love him." But if he was able to use a time machine there is one musician he would love to host above all others. "Jimi Hendrix would bring such a cool vibe."
Crafti Bar, 21 W. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale. Tuesday to Thursday: open 7 p.m. to midnight, Friday and Saturday: open 7 p.m. to 4 a.m., closed Sunday and Monday. Call 954-999-4464, or visit craftibar.com.
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