By Thom Smith
Colonel Sanders was the chicken king, but Michelle Bernstein may be the new queen, and if enough of her subjects seek an audience, it could be good news for the troubled Omphoy Resort just north of the Lake Worth bridge.
The rage at her Miami restaurant for years, Bernstein’s fried chicken is now an all-you-can-eat item on Wednesdays at Michelle Bernstein at the Omphoy. Price: $36 including cornbread, cole slaw and watermelon Greek salad, plus a red velvet cupcake.
Let’s face it, The Omphoy can use all the help it can muster. Stabfund (USA) Inc., a Swiss investor, filed a foreclosure suit against Ceebraid-Signal Corp., parent company of Omphoy and Lake Worth’s Gulfstream Hotel. Stabfund wants its $60 million back.
Ceebraid-Signal has been blessed by bad timing. After several delays and nearly a $100 million investment, The Omphoy opened last summer, just as the economy was tanking. This after Ceebraid-Signal had bought the historic Gulfstream, on the city side of the bridge, in 2005, just in time for Hurricane Wilma. It hasn’t opened since. Fortunately for Ceebraid-Signal, its old standby, the Brazilian Court, is a condominium, so it still realizes income from those fees.
Meanwhile the Omphoy limps along, hoping to restructure its debt. “Ceebraid has rallied from numerous setbacks over the years,” a source said, noting that Bernstein’s restaurant and the Exhale Spa continue to do well. But the Omphoy is “not running as a four-star resort,” and the company is “looking for a partner.”
When we last visited Callaro’s in this column, the Manalapan restaurant was providing hors d’oeuvres for Florida Stage’s farewell party. The stage is now empty, but business must go on, so Callaro’s is augmenting its steaks and seafood with something new: SOB dance parties.
That’s SOB as in South Ocean Boulevard.
Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at 10, the lights go down and the music comes up for late night dancing designed to attract singles, couples, singles who may become couples and couples on the verge of going single. Different drink and food specials are offered each night.
In a twist on the old adage, the Delray Beach Public Library seems to be on a course that the path to a man’s heart — and brain — is through his stomach.
When city cut the library’s funding by 5 percent, the library turned to the city’s vibrant restaurant community to take up some slack. “Dine Out for a Cause” — begun in 2008 as a summer promotion — features city officials “performing” as celebrity chefs. On Aug. 26, at the Triple 8 Lounge at Falcon House, Mayor Woodie McDuffie took his turn in the kitchen. More customers for Falcon House, and the library got 10 percent of the total tab.
The library also has a deal with Ken Bebout, who owns a Subway two blocks away on Atlantic Avenue. Realizing that young readers make good customers, Bebout began donating food and free coupons to neighborhood children who take part in the library’s summer reading programs.
On Aug. 19, he opened his second sub shop at the corner of Federal and Atlantic, and proceeds from opening day went, natch, to the library.
Just across the street from the library is the Delray Beach Tennis Center, which has hosted the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships for 13 years. For its contribution to the county’s tourism, the tournament was just named recipient of the 2010 Providencia Award by the Palm Beach County Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Due largely to the tournament, Delray was voted one of the “10 Best Tennis Towns” in the nation by the U.S. Tennis Association. Who can forget February’s match on Atlantic Avenue featuring John “You can’t be serious” McEnroe and Ronald Agenor?
Nominees included the Boca Raton Museum of Art, CityPlace, David Feder, International Polo Club Palm Beach, Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse & Museum, Nancy Marshall and the Palm Beach International Boat Show. Previous winners include Jack Nicklaus, The Morikami Museum, the Norton Museum of Art, SunFest and the Boca Raton Resort & Club.
Presentation is set for Sept. 30 at the County Convention Center.
Love’s labors won’t be lost this Labor Day weekend, thanks to Il Bacio. The Delray nightclub’s “Amazonia,” party on Sept. 5, will feature a glow-in-the-dark body paint fashion show, neon jungle models and a seven-piece reggae band. Guests are urged to wear all white. Reservations required (561-865-7785).
Restaurateur Burt Rapoport anticipates a mid-autumn opening for his new waterfront restaurant in the site formerly occupied by Busch’s Seafood. It won’t, however, be called Burt’s At The Bridge, as previously reported. Stay tuned.
The other Intracoastal bridge, on George Bush Boulevard, is closed for repair, and so is Pauline’s Restaurant … for good. A sign in the window by the new — undisclosed — owner says it will reopen in November.
We’ll give the just-opened Caliente Kitchen some time before deciding if it’s just another taco stand, no matter that they’re served in bright orange shells. Lots of tequilas behind the long red bar. The trendy cantina at the west end of Atlantic shares a courtyard with Tryst.
So Aunt Sophie in Topeka is on a diet and you want to punish her? Why not have TooJay’s send her a “Killer Cake”? The popular deli that spread from its original location in Palm Beach’s Royal Poinciana Plaza to 26 locations in Florida, including Boca, Boynton and Lake Worth, is going semi-national.
From the decadent Killer Cake ($37.95) to the Ultimate Deli Lunch (serves 6-8) for
$74.95, TooJay’s Online Store will ship anywhere east of the Mississippi for
just $19.95 and guarantee it’s fresh. Call 888-537-8380 or visit
www.toojays.com.
One of the largest nonprofits anywhere and one of the smallest hooked up for a fund-raiser at Crane’s BeachHouse in Delray Aug. 19.
As custodian for a 146,000-acre National Wildlife Preserve, the Arthur R. Marshall Foundation may be the largest nonprofit on earth. The Mounts Botanical Garden in West Palm Beach only occupies 10 acres.
Both, however, need money, and since they are two of Palm Beach County’s “greenest” organizations and both feature names that begin with M, it was fitting that green M&Ms were the treat of the day.
A handful of guests enjoyed hors d’oeuvres, beverages and a raffle that included exotic plants and airboat rides to raise money and awareness for the crucial environmental groups.
“It’s a start,” said Mounts Friends Chairman Mike Zimmerman.
Thom Smith is a freelance writer. He can be reached at thomsmith@ymail.com.
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