Once upon a time, restaurants and bars tended to open along heavily trafficked streets and highly visible strip malls.
Sure, they've been easy enough to find, but that kind of takes away from the excitement of discovering a new spot.
Over the past few years, many of the popular bars and eateries have been steadily making their way into more industrial parts of town.
Tap 42 took over the legendary dive Brownies, and now it's one of the busiest spots in town.
Laser Wolf set itself up in a quiet strip mall in the once-derelict area north of Broward Boulevard -- you're lucky to find yourself a seat now.
Contrary to common wisdom, these obscure establishments have garnered a huge following, proving that if you build something different, people will come.
The Keg on Sixth is about to bring craft beer and global comfort food to another untapped industrial part of Fort Lauderdale.
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Owners Eddie McNerney and Richard Carmichael have long been staples in the Broward restaurant scene. McNerney most recently managed American Social, and Carmichael tended bar at the Dubliner Fort Lauderdale.
With a goal of opening in the next few weeks, the pair plan to offer a large selection of craft beer -- with some commercial options -- wines, and global comfort fare for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
The space is still under construction. Once finished, it will host an industrial vibe with large murals from local graffiti artists.
Seating is offered at high-top communal tables, booths, and a large bar. Eventually, they plan to expand with an outdoor patio.
While both McNerney and Carmichael are natives of Ireland, they're staying away from the pub concept.
"We wanted to do something different from the same old Irish pub," says Carmichael. "We don't want to be in the hustle and bustle of downtown. We're looking to attract a diverse crowd."
McNerney originally started looking for a location of his own, but the two joined together to develop the concept about a year ago.
Although they looked for locations all over Fort Lauderdale, they opted to move to the untapped part of town when they hooked up with the owner of the property -- Carmichael's wife Alyson styles his hair.
"It's a good neighborhood and a good space," says Carmichael. "There's not much around here apart from Lester's. We want to draw traffic from the local businesses, the airport, and a younger crowd. We're going to serve great beer and good food, all the good stuff."
Stay tuned for details.
The Keg on Sixth is located at 3218 SE Sixth Ave. in Fort Lauderdale.
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