By Steven Evans, PhD
Tropics Grille, a staple on Wilton Drive for decades, is getting a new addition; a piano bar! It has been decades since Wilton Manors has seen a genuine piano bar! Tropics Grille has been a leader on The Drive in hosting live music seven nights a week in their popular cabaret room. There you can see live instrumentalists ranging from guitar to drums to piano and live vocalists taking your requests.
The newly crowned After Hours Lounge and Piano Bar, located in the Tropics Grille event space, will not conflict with an already thriving dinner time schedule with most shows starting around 7:00pm. After Hours Lounge and Piano Bar will begin their shows at 9:00pm and run until at least 11:00pm, though shows may run later depending on growing popularity. The new space will seat roughly 40-50 guests with some shows featuring seating at the actual piano! The room is launching programming with some heavy hitting headliners like Jennifer McClain, Miss Bouvèé, and Rick Leonard.
Jennifer McClain will bring her popular Cast Party on Mondays starting at 9:00pm. There, you can see invited guests that are local and from afar. You may also see some cool giveaways and with the national tours back up and running, you never know just who may stop by and sing while they are in town! Jennifer will be accompanied by a rotating roster of pianists, but for this month, most shows will feature Eric Alsford.
Miss Bouvèé is trying something new on Wednesday nights starting at 9:00pm! To date she has never done an all-request show with a pianist and popular music director Rick Leonard is teaming up with her. This will be an all request cabaret show in an intimate setting. You can request your Pop, Disney, and Broadway favorites but you may catch some new comedic repertoire coming your way as well!
Additional shows will be added in the coming months. Reservations are highly recommended due to the limited seating availability. For reservations call 954-530-3361, make sure to ask for reservations to be in the Lounge and Piano Bar for guaranteed seating at showtimes (9:00pm). Jennifer McClain’s Cast Party on Monday features half off entrees. Miss Bouvèé’s Dragaret Piano Bar Show on Wednesday features half off burgers and chicken sandwiches. Kitchen is open until 10:00pm on show nights. A two drink minimum, or comparable food purchase, is required per guest.
