This weekend, a new music venue, Vibe, opens in Fort Lauderdale on Las Olas Boulevard -- right next to YOLO and O Lounge. We spoke to one of the owners, Tim Petrillo, about the space. (We also talked to him about his restaurants -- YOLO, Tarpon Bend, and more -- the full Q&A is on our food blog, Clean Plate Charlie.)
Tell us about Vibe.
It's a live-music lounge. There will be
all things music, from jazz to rock, DJs to a great flamenco band,
percussionists. Of the six nights we're open, there will be live music
probably four. Over the last six, seven months, we've traveled all over
looking at bands -- from killer clubs to very shady warehouses. It's a
place where you know you can come down and listen to great music.
[The
closing of] O'Hara's really left a void in east Fort Lauderdale and
especially on Las Olas Boulevard. We kept hearing people say they like
to go to Las Olas, but once you eat dinner, there's not much else to do. I
tried to talk Kitty [Ryan, owner of O'Hara's] into doing it. She had
closed because the Riverside Hotel didn't renew any of those leases. She
decided not to, so we decided, "What the heck -- we'll do it."
Are you looking for local bands to play there?
We're always looking -- they can contact us through our website -- vibelasolas.com.
What are you doing at Vibe for Halloween?
A masquerade ball. It started years ago at River House -- it's a benefit for Pet Set. It's a big, big festival, and it starts at 7 p.m. There's a $25 donation.
What are you going to dress as?
I haven't decided yet, but the staff here at YOLO has a theme of superheroes, and at Vibe, the theme is vampires and villains.
Will they clash in the courtyard or something?
I'm hoping there will be so many people here, you can't figure out who's who.
