VERO BEACH — It’s been some 25 years since the Tahitian Lounge was pouring drinks on Ocean Drive. For the first time since it moved to the mainland around 2190, a free-standing, full liquor bar is opening on the barrier island. Called Bungalow it’s expected to open on the south end of Central Beach sometime in early April.
Bungalow, destined for a gutted space in Portales de Vero, will have a French country motif, if its owner, 30-year-old Amanda Frechette, sees her concept through to completion. She’s currently waiting for final permit to build a wheel-chair accessible restroom in the 1,000-square-foot space.
The one-time cocktail server and bartender in Fort Lauderdale says she got the idea for the venture when it popped into her head one night after a trip to California’s wine country in November. “That’s when I decided to do a French country-inspired bar,” she says.
“She and her boyfriend were hanging out of the beach on a Saturday night and called me and said, ‘We’ve got an idea. We want to open a bar,’” recalls realtor Billy Moss, who brokered the deal along with Dan Gage. Both work with Lambert Commercial Real Estate. The same company manages the plaza, Portales de Vero, where Bungalow is slated to go.
“I saw the ‘for rent’ sign and I just went, ‘Get out!’” says Frechette. “The building even looks French country.”
She is currently working with a broker to buy a liquor license known as a 4-c.o.p.
With the new brew pub of Orchid Island Brewery next door, Moss believes the bar could attract the same young crowd that currently spends its evenings at bars like the Grove and the Stamp downtown.
“It’s going to make Portales a great entertainment destination.”
The former yoga studio is around the corner from Polo Grill restaurant, a clubby traditional restaurant with an older clientele. That restaurant once had a lively elegant lounge separate from its current location. The restaurant and bar closed for a time, then only the restaurant reopened.
A block away on the ocean is Citrus Grillhouse, which has full-liquor bars both on its terrace and inside. The restaurant draws an affluent clientele from John’s Island and other gated communities.
Frechette aims to target locals with lower price points than other island bars.
“All the hotels on the beach that serve liquor, their wine selection isn’t all that great and they charge tourist prices,” says Frechette. “This place will be a great spot for locals to come and hang out. There’s going to be a really good drink menu – I’ve been researching recipes, and there’s going to be high-end wine at affordable low cost. We’re not going to break people’s banks.”
Meanwhile, Blue Star Wine Bar has moved to the mainland, settling into a former Asian restaurant on 14th Avenue. A liquor license there allowed owner Kitty Wagner to add bourbon to its southern theme.
A new coffee shop and wine bar, Grind and Grape, is going into the old Blue Star space on Bougainvillea Lane. Owned by Barbaralee Monday, whose family owns Frosting cake shop on Cardinal Drive, there is no word on an opening date, though signs are posted in the windows.
Frechette has hired architect Bob Gaskill to draw up plans that would gut the interior, add whitewashed brick walls, wood floors, and a granite bar. There will be two free-standing tables and built-in benches with pillows.
While the room is small, she’s hoping to have live acoustic music.
Frechette grew up in a small town in Rhode Island. She moved to Vero Beach six years ago, soon after her parents, Richard and Natalie Frechette, retired here.
“It’s going to be an opportunity to get to know beachside more and interact more,” says Frechette, who rents a home a few doors down the street from Portales de Vero, and walks her brindle English bulldog around the neighborhood. She will be keeping her day job: she telecommutes for Alcatel-Lucent, the French telecommunications company that builds cell phone towers.