“You know how you always hear, ‘Save for a rainy day?’ So that’s what we did. “We learned that during our good years to put money away,” explains O’Donnell. But the gastropub didn’t lay off any staff, having learned lessons from when Spring Break got shut down, the Great Recession of 2008 and when repairs on the Sunrise Boulevard drawbridge took two years to complete in the late ’80s. More recently the Parrot has moved toward environmental responsibility, becoming the first restaurant on the beach to ban plastics in 2019 in a partnership with the Surfrider Foundation.Īnd, of course, there’s been the pandemic. I think the flat screen TVs are our biggest thing today.” “In 2009 we extended to the sidewalk when we saw outdoor eating was becoming a thing. “To this day we are still adapting,” says O’Donnell. The Parrot had long been a hangout for fans of Philly clubs and teams, but in the ’90s other franchises found a home at the by-then-gastropub. “Sports became a big deal,” O’Donnell says. In the ’90s, Fort Lauderdale and the entire region had major growth in several sectors. The change in drinking age meant older people, not as crazy.” The Parrot realized the future is going to be more food. “The drinking age went from 18 to 21,” explains O’Donnell. Of those classic Spring Break bars, only the Elbo Room and the Parrot survive today. In 1985 an estimated 350,000 college students visited Fort Lauderdale beach and city leaders began shutting down the bacchanal. This was the heyday of Spring Break and legendary party hearty spots such as the Button, Candy Store, Summers on the Beach and Penrod’s on the Beach. “You couldn’t do that now.”īut in the ’80s the beach got busy and so did the Parrot. “I remember one day we went out on A1A with a hibachi to grill hamburgers and had a couple of beers and didn’t see one car,” he says. Schiavone recalls just how sleepy a seaside town Fort Lauderdale could be. Back then, Fort Lauderdale was a beach and that was it. “I got here in 1978, and I think there was one tall building on the corner of Broward Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale. “The history of the Parrot goes along with the history of Fort Lauderdale,” he says. O’Donnell thinks there is a correlation between the venue and the city. Drinking and eating at the Parrot is like drinking and eating at home, but you don’t have to do the dishes and take out the trash.” “When you walk in the Parrot you get the same vibe as from your hometown corner tavern. You shake peoples hands, get their names and get to know a little bit about them.” “In the ’70s, ‘friendly neighborhood bar’ was one of the slogans we had. “We grew up with what you call neighborhood bars,” he explains. ![]() The Northeast is also a part of the Parrot’s foundation. They know what it takes to get where we are.” It means a lot to have a cook, waiter, bartender, manager who have been with us for years. We would never sell to an outside person. No outside ownership came into this place. “ All of them had their sweat in this place. “There have been only three owners over 50 years,” O’Donnell says. ![]() The bar will celebrate it’s 50th anniversary this Saturday, Nov. Vintage photographs line the walls of the World Famous Parrot Lounge in Ft. The tavern, which Boyd (retired and residing in Mississippi) opened in 1970, began to live up to its name. Barnum moment and added that to the name.”īut it worked. Now this was like 1973 or ’74, so it was wishful thinking for us. He must have had 100 and I guess some of them said ‘world famous’ something. So this guy comes in with all these packs of matches. Back then you had to have matches with your bar name on them. “William Boyd, the original owner, was always doing crazy s. ![]() “How we got the ‘World Famous,’ now that’s an interesting story,” recalls longtime employee, even longer time fan and current co-owner Tim Schiavone. 14, when the World Famous Parrot Lounge celebrates its 50th anniversary. You can see for yourself on Saturday, Nov. Underneath banks of flat-screen TVs and spread in and around other mounted memorabilia, there are photos of fans from all over the globe. Adding “World Famous” to the Parrot Lounge’s name might seem like braggadocio, until you check out the photos on the walls of the landmark Fort Lauderdale restaurant and bar tucked away in a little seaside nabe on the corner of A1A and Sunrise Boulevard.
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