Buddha Sky Bar - the chic third-floor rooftop sushi spot in Downtown Delray - is expanding into the first floor space beneath it with a slightly altered concept called Buddha Garden - and they will be hiring an entirely new staff to run it.
Ever since the giant Buddha statue went in just off Atlantic Avenue, its face pointed east toward the ocean, Buddha Sky Bar has been successfully serving up fusion Asian cuisine, fresh sushi, and posh cocktails with a view of the skyline under a glass arboretum.
Downstairs is a different story. Several restaurants have opened and subsequently closed in the space beneath the rooftop establishment, despite the prime location in the heart of Delray Beach's bustling restaurant district.
The Atlantic Ocean Club opened in January of 2011 and closed suddenly in mid-May
just four months later. Just as suddenly, a new concept restaurant
called Pop-up opened later that same month.
To be fair, Pop-up was always planned as a
temporary testing ground for the chef and staff who were tagged to set
up a more permanent establishment in the future. For four hot summer
months, Pop-up served up a constantly changing menu before shutting down at the
beginning of fall.
SpoonFed, supposedly born from the menu and
staff testing of Pop-up, opened in October of 2011. Though it lasted a
couple of months longer than its predecessors, SpoonFed closed its
doors forever in May 2012. The space has been vacant ever since.
In order to break the curse of the seemingly benighted location at 217 E. Atlantic Ave., the Buddha Garden will build on the success of the Sky Bar as a more casual incarnation of the chi-chi rooftop concept.
"Buddha Garden is going to have a more loungey feel than Sky Bar," says Buddha Sky Bar rep Sarah Hendricks. "The expansion is going to incorporate all the same food and the things you already know and love about the Sky Bar but more casual and maybe you won't have to wait. We'll have a sake bar, an outdoor bar, and a living wall inside - an herb garden on the wall. It will be open to outside. There's a bar near the door that lets outside so it will have the outdoor seating area."
Buddha Garden is looking for more than 30 potential staff members for both front and back house positions including servers, bartenders, and cooks and will be hosting its own job fair from 11 to 3 p.m. Saturday, October 27 and Sunday, October 28. Though it's an open call, they have specified they are looking for "elite indivuduals" with at least three years of experience mandatory.
"When it comes to Buddha Sky Bar, they have some great staff. Everyone is so nice, the service is so great, and they want to maintain that reputation [at Buddha Garden,]" says Hendricks. "They want to have people that love what they do and are excited to come to work everyday."
Hendricks says they are expecting quite a turnout, so get there early and bring a resume. They don't want any phone calls, but if you have any questions send an email to [email protected] or visit buddhaskybar.com.
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