The end of 2015 went out with a bang in Vero Beach as thousands ushered in 2016 by celebrating New Year’s Eve at venues all around town. From the barrier island to the mainland there were wall-to-wall party-people – a marked difference from recent years, when many opted to welcome the New Year at home.
Business owners were pleasantly surprised at the turnout, seeing a dramatic increase in the number of partiers mingling and making a night of it. This was the first year that two beachside locations were open for New Year’s: Grind + Grape, a coffee house/wine bar on Bougainvillea Lane, and Orchid Island Brewery, a new microbrewery in the Portales de Vero building.
“We only opened in March, so this is our first year open for New Year’s,” said Grind + Grape owner Barbaralee Monday. “We have two really wonderful groups – East Harbor Band and the Groove Dogs from Miami – so we hope to be packed.”
Monday’s wish came true. The bar overflowed with beautiful young partiers and spilled over into the street.
Orchid Island Brewery owners Alden and Valerie Bing hired the band Time Machine and incorporated the outdoor Portales de Vero portico area as a dance floor where guests could enjoy the music and ocean breezes.
“This has been great! There have already been about 350 people come through here tonight,” said Alden Bing at 10 p.m. when the night was still young. “I think that we are attracting a whole new demographic of people coming in here, from a few 80-yearolds rocking out to a much larger younger crowd.”
Many other establishments were also jammed with people relishing the warm night, strolling from one spot to the next and meeting up with friends at the various Ocean Drive establishments.
Some guests at Heaton’s Reef at the Vero Beach Hotel & Spa made it an all-night affair, booking rooms so they could dance the night away on the patio by the ocean.
“I would say about 80 percent of the people here are all locals,” said restaurant manager Will McKinnon, adding that Heaton’s Reef is looking forward to a planned expansion that will feature a 50-seat oceanfront bar.
“We love it because the music is great and it is a controlled environment where we can keep an eye on our three kids in the pool. We know they are safe and we do not have to drive,” said guest John Genoni, who lives beachside.
In Historic Downtown, Main Street Vero Beach teamed up with the Heritage Center and the Cultural Council to throw one big New Year’s Eve block party, their first one ever. Elite Airways, the lead sponsor, raffled off coveted round-trip tickets to the New Jersey/New York area through the sale of food and drink tickets. Nearby local businesses, including The Grove and a new burger pub called Grumpies Burger and Beer, also benefited from the overflow crowd.
“We are still in our soft opening stage,” said Grumpies owner Will Tseng as he dealt with a long line of people ordering food. “This is definitely introducing us to the community tonight.”
Tents and chairs had been set up on the lawn of the Heritage Center so that partiers could watch local performers while waiting for the Times Square ball drop, which was simulcast onto a large screen. A miniature lighted ball to mimic the one in Times Square had been designed in just 18 hours by Ted Truslow and Todd Darress to celebrate the midnight hour locally.
In an apropos connection, members of the Schlitt family, 2011 honorees at the Heritage Center’s annual Pioneer Family Recognition Dinner fundraiser, had already planned a New Year’s Eve wedding reception at the Heritage Center. The reception indoors celebrated the marriage of Megan Elliott to Andrew Gonzalez, son of Linda Schlitt Gonzalez, as revelers partied outside.
“They approached us with this grand idea just 40 days ago, and we said the more the merrier. It added a great party atmosphere to our reception,” said Megan Gonzalez.
“The Schlitts are all about having fun and that’s what this turned out to be,” added new husband Andrew Gonzalez.