Many new restaurants are opening in Pompano Beach. Here are the latest plans.
As Pompano Beach undergoes a face-lift with redevelopment, many new restaurants are in the works.
Among the plans are a rooftop bar in a 6,000-square-foot building nicknamed the “Wash House,” a stand-alone Asian-Mexican restaurant, as well as an eatery that’ll serve Southern food.
Here’s a look at some of the latest developments.
South Bar & Kitchen
This restaurant — owned by Mike Linder, who also owns three Fort Lauderdale popular restaurants, Jet Runway Cafe, Canyon and Yot — has broken ground to serve Southern food and American beer. It will be located at 165 NE 1st Ave.
“I’m excited about the growth and opportunity, and the first one really to break ground,” Linder said. “I had the opportunity to help develop Pompano.”
He expects it to be open this fall.
Wash House
The city of Pompano Beach is looking for a restaurant operator who is committed to opening a rooftop bar at a 6,000-square-foot building nicknamed the “Wash House” at 11 NE 1 St.
The city owns the former coin laundromat, which was named Laundromax in the 1970s.
“It’s a great location and we know that that site will be the anchor site for the entire block” of eateries, said Nguyen Tran, director of the Pompano Beach Northwest Community Redevelopment Agency.
Old Town Square
Developer Adam Adache’s 10-story residential project called Old Town Square includes 281 rental apartments and has been under construction since October. It will be open in mid-2023.
There will be commercial space on the ground floor with space for a restaurant, too, at 201 NE 2 St.
The eatery needs to be “hip and trendy,” he said. “We are picky as to what we would allow there,” Adache said. “It has to fit the area, which is important for the growth of the downtown.”
More eateries will come. “There’s a lot of room for growth,” Adache said. “This is just the beginning. I expect the area to explode, really, with more restaurants and more bars.”
Papamigos
This business, an Asian-Mexican food truck serving tacos, tequila and sushi, will become a brick-and-mortar building once it gets its permits. It will be located at 44 NE 1 St. and expected to open in 2023.
Looking ahead
The 276-acre downtown as a whole has been years in the making, which includes the “Innovation District,” for high-tech companies and the “Old Town” section being designed as an epicenter of dining and entertainment with artist studios and a green market.
The downtown is generally defined as Interstate 95 on the west, Dixie Highway on the east, Atlantic Boulevard on the south and Northwest Sixth Street on the north. The downtown is part of the citywide reinvention; the beach area has been undergoing a renaissance of new shops and restaurants.
There’s still work to be done: The city has set aside $3 million to design the drainage infrastructure and the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency could create a taxing district to pay for the improvements. And officials are still searching for a master developer to build 80 acres of it, including as many as 3,000 apartments, retail shops and a hotel near the highway, Tran said.
“It’s really the start of the whole restaurant, entertainment, arts and culture venue,” he said. “It’s really developing as planned.
“What it means is Pompano has been thirsty for it and the timing is right,” Tran said.
Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at lhuriash@sunsentinel.com or 954-572-2008 or Twitter @LisaHuriash
