The City of Miami Beach is working hard to open South Beach again the fastest way they can, and that’s good enough for me.” “I feel as long as everyone is safe and alive, I’m happy. “Not everything is just about business, but I would’ve definitely loved to be open during this time for the locals that needed a place to go,” said Molto co-owner Raymond Ortega. The new drag bar, which officially opened last month, didn’t have electricity until Wednesday and was scheduled to reopen at 4 p.m. We need to support our local bars.”Īmong the local gay bars, Molto, like Score, was also still closed through Tuesday. The sad part is that it’s affecting our community. This is the longest time Score has been closed. “For Wilma, Katrina, all of those storms, we were open right away. “We’ve been closed ever since then,” he said. I guess people were thinking ‘let’s dance until everything goes to pieces, basically,” he laughs.ĭominguez said Score was supposed to open on Thursday before the hurricane hit, but the city closed everything down. “The last time we were open was last Wednesday,” Dominguez continued. “I know our safety is a top priority, but these curfews are affecting the small businesses. “Score would’ve opened Tuesday but they implemented the 11 o’clock curfew, which I think is kind of ridiculous,” said Charlie Dominguez, a bartender at Score.
Other LGBT businesses on the beach remained closed as of Tuesday, including Score. This is proof we have a supportive community and we can get through anything together.” We’re so grateful the community came out to support us when we reopened. And fortunately, we had staff who lived locally, who wanted to come back to work. “Thankfully, it was safe for us to open,” Stedman continued. It’s the longest we’ve been closed during any hurricane. “Of course, to be closed this many days is always a financial hit to any business. Loss of business was significant,” said Joel Stedman, a partner at Twist. Twist on Washington Avenue, which recently celebrated its 24th anniversary, was the first and only LGBT venue to open Tuesday. Gay establishments on South Beach - including Twist, Score, Hotel Gaythering and Molto - were closed for days, leaving their loyal patrons jonesing for a drink and a good time. (Photo by Jose Cassola)īy Jose Hurricane Irma uprooted trees, flooded Brickell and left millions of South Floridians without power, cabin fever started to sink in for members of the Miami LGBT community. Twist was open for business on Tuesday, following five days of closure due to Hurricane Irma. Not even Wilma or Katrina closed clubs Score and Twist for so long