ST. PETERSBURG – If you’ve driven anywhere near Central Avenue in St. Petersburg’s Grand Central District in the past year, you’ve probably passed the huge two-story building across from Grand Central Brewhouse.

It’s kinda hard to miss.

Now, two years after signing the lease and after a year of intensive construction, LALA St. Pete, a new karaoke bar and restaurant at 2324 Central Ave., is finally open.

Owner Lucas Herraiz is behind the new venture, which includes a full restaurant and bar on the ground floor, an outdoor patio and rooftop terrace, and several private karaoke rooms throughout the building. .

Herraiz, who is originally from Paris, moved to St. Petersburg from Miami seven years ago. Herraiz hopes LALA St. Pete will serve as a prototype for future similar sites in the Tampa Bay area. Hopefully, he’s looking at Tampa and Sarasota for duplicate concepts.

Here’s everything you need to know about the hippest new spot in town.

Karaoke rooms are themed.

The two-story space features seven private karaoke rooms — three downstairs and four upstairs — each with different themes, decor, and capacity limits.

Rooms include the Speakeasy, with a roaring ’20s and Prohibition-era theme; Studio LALA, which features a 70s vibe and is decorated with vintage Studio 54 photos and a disco ball; and Rock & Red, a rock and roll themed venue outfitted with concert posters from rock and pop legends like David Bowie, U2 and Prince.

Rooms have strict capacity limits, due to city fire codes. The smaller room seats five (“perfect for dates or double dates,” Herraiz said) and the larger one seats 16, which Herraiz says will be popular for business events and parties. big birthday parties.

Customers can reserve two-hour time slots on the bar’s website. Room prices vary and depend on the day of the week as well as the time of day. For example, a smaller room on a Thursday morning around 11:30 a.m. might cost $80 while the largest room – the Tropical Room – costs around $384 a weekend night.

During peak hours, Herraiz said the price drops to around $10 per hour per person.

Rooms are already booking up fast: In the first week of the reservation system’s launch, Herraiz said he got more than 100 bookings.

Not your average karaoke playlist.

Herraiz worked with a French-based karaoke app designer to custom design LALA’s iPad karaoke system, which includes a playlist of 46,000 songs. To choose a song, guests can browse playlists and various music genres and categories (ranging from bachelorette parties to Mother’s Day) or enter the song they’re looking for.

There are multiple microphones and a set of buttons allow guests to control the volume as they please. Another feature allows shy singers to dial in the voice of the original singer on the track, if they prefer to sing a duet.

Food is served… everywhere.

Karaoke is only half the excitement: LALA’s restaurant will serve brunch, lunch and dinner daily.

Chef Kait Smith, 27, runs the kitchen and, along with Herraiz, is in the final stages of designing the menu, loosely described as “upscale American and French Mediterranean” fare. Smith previously worked at Tampa restaurants C-House, Bern’s and Elevage.

Guests have the option of dining in the main dining room, with 32 seats and an additional 14 seats at the bar, or on the outdoor terrace, which leads to a shared beer garden space adjacent to Grand Central Brewhouse. Although the businesses are separate, a mutual agreement between the two means that brewery customers can order food from LALA.

Guests of the karaoke room can also order food and drinks to be delivered to their individual room. Fittingly, there are plenty of grab-and-go snacks on the opening menu, including cheese and charcuterie boards ($29), watermelon and feta skewers ($16), toast lobster avocado ($24) and bruschetta crostini ($13).

For bigger appetites, a selection of baguette sandwiches includes the Parisian, with salted butter, ham, pickles and Swiss cheese ($15); the Italian, which includes salted butter, sopressata, chorizo, ham, lettuce, tomato, onion and Italian dressing ($18); and the Caprese, topped with pesto, tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil and balsamic glaze ($17). There are also several salads and, for dessert, a salted caramel cheesecake ($7) and a lime pie ($7).

But there are no hot dishes yet.

Permit delays have caused setbacks for kitchen staff, so for the next two weeks it’s just ‘cold’ food.

Once the regular menu launches, Herraiz said diners can expect a more formal list of starters, including many French-leaning dishes like steak frites, coq au vin, mussels fries and beef. Burgundian.

There is a rooftop bar.

Cocktails and a breeze overlooking Central Avenue. Need we say more?

As with most karaoke joints, liquid courage is a big part of the business. The beverage program here includes a list of red and white sparkling wines (including premium Champagne selections) and 10 beers on tap, two of which will include a rotating selection from Grand Central Brewhouse.

Cocktails include a list of classic quaffs (margaritas, Moscow mules, mojitos) and signature drinks including the LALA 75, a twist on a French 75 made with Bombay Sapphire gin, crème de fleur, lavender, lemon juice and sparkling wine.

LALA St. Pete is open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m.

2324 Central Avenue, St. Petersburg. 727-329-9455. lalastpete.com

If you like to sing along at the top of your lungs at karaoke but don’t like to embarrass yourself in front of everyone, then Lala (stylized “LALA”), the new (and only) bar and restaurant in St. private karaoke, may interest you.

This new avant-garde entertainment restaurant at 2324 Central Ave. is expected to open in the first week of February, although there is no exact opening date yet.

The restaurant, its two bars and seven private karaoke rooms will occupy the two-story building in the Grand Central District. The new St. Pete hotspot will share an outdoor courtyard with neighboring Grand Central Brewhouse, and owner Luckas Herraiz told Creative Loafing in summer 2020 that it will serve as an “activity garden.” Games, live music and maybe even a karaoke contest are to be expected in the shared space when Lala debuts next month.

Herraiz picked up the phone to kick off the new year and talk about LALA’s highly anticipated opening, preview its menu and give an overview of its various karaoke rooms.

LALA’s eclectic menu stacked with American-French fusion is sure to distract you from those flat notes and awkward duets.

“Our menu will be inspired by a combination of modern American, French and Mediterranean cuisine,” Herraiz told CL. “There will be charcuterie boards, scallop tartare with truffles, filet mignon and beef carpaccio – I think everyone will be able to find a dish they like.

Lala will also provide catering service to neighboring Grand Central Brewhouse. GCB customers (whether seated inside or in the common courtyard) can place orders for burgers, pizzas, wings, and other bar-style dishes, and a Lala server will deliver them to them. Lala will also have a late-night menu alongside GCB’s munchie-style dishes.

In addition to food, there will be two full-service bars on the ground floor and rooftop serving a wide variety of wines, specialty cocktails and local beers. Herraiz says many of the drinks in Lala’s cocktail program are tropically inspired and made with natural fruit juices. Anyone in a private karaoke box will have access to the entire food and drink menu, with special waitresses servicing the different rooms – one of the ways Herraiz describes Lala’s private karaoke as a “dedicated experience”. .

There will be a total of seven different private rooms available to rent by the hour – the smallest room for five people costs $50 per hour while the largest room for 12 people costs $120 per hour . A minimum of two hours is required to reserve one of the rooms.

Each room is decorated differently, with themes ranging from old Hollywood glamor to tropical paradise, retro recording studio, disco party and grunge-rock (with Nirvana posters.) Hand sanitizer and disposable microphone covers will be part of the various COVID-19 precautions in place. When LALA opens soon, you can reserve karaoke rooms and reserve dinner tables in advance (highly recommended) directly through their website.

Private karaoke rooms, or “karaoke boxes” as they were originally called, became popular in Japan in the 1980s and quickly became a phenomenon for belters and serenades around the world. Although LALA is the only private karaoke venue in St. Petersburg, Tampa Karaoke VIP has been holding the private sing-along game for quite some time.

Herraiz owned and operated Greek restaurant Tikanis in St. Pete until he sold it two years ago, after realizing he wanted to open a more entertainment-focused restaurant.

“I wanted to create a complete entertainment restaurant experience,” says Herraiz. “The sophisticated karaoke trend is quite popular in Europe, and I wanted to bring it to St. Petersburg.”

Start building your karaoke master roster now, remember no one wants to listen to a six-minute song, and follow @lalastpete on Instagram for the latest updates on its grand opening happening next week.

Lala St. Pete will be open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. Friday and Saturday, with its kitchen open all the time. This new upscale karaoke restaurant will welcome children until 9 p.m., but will be adults-only until closing time.

CHARLOTTETOWN, PEI — A Charlottetown restaurant gets a new identity as it undergoes a facelift and rebranding.

Outriders Cookhouse, which has operated in Sherwood Business Park for nearly a decade, will reopen as Coach’s Sports Bar and Restaurant.

“We came up with a vision to tidy up what used to be here, which was Outriders, and give it a facelift with a new decor downstairs, a new name, a new menu,” said Isaac Pitre, general manager. of Coach’s, during an interview.

“We are in a growing community, and we see it as a place that will continue to grow. In terms of restaurants, there isn’t much here. Boston Pizza and Montana’s are nearby, but many places are either out of town or downtown.

Coaches will be divided into two levels. The lower level will function as a pub-style restaurant for those wishing to have a sit-down meal, socialize with friends or family, and listen to live music. There will also be televisions for those who want to watch the game in a more relaxed environment.

The second level will house Coach’s dedicated sports bar, which will feature TVs, a bar, seating for people to congregate and later hours than the restaurant – remaining open until 12 p.m. every evening.

“If anyone wants to come here, sit at the bar and have beers, they’re welcome. It might be a little louder with the games going on, it’s a different type of crowd. low, it checks the boxes for whoever it is,” Pitre said.

In March 2021, Kent Scales, co-owner of the Olde Dublin Pub, Claddagh Oyster House and The Local, bought Outriders and operated it until December 28 when it was closed for refurbishment.

The restaurant has since been gutted from top to bottom to make way for the new dining room as well as the new upstairs bar.

“It’s going to have the same top-down feel, kind of a rustic industrial feel to tie it to the industrial park,” said Marly Anderson, project manager. “It’s more of a pub vibe, I think. It will be comfortable for whoever enters.

Incorporating this industrial environment around the restaurant, as well as the history of the area, was important when creating the Coach’s brand, Pitre said.

“The name is not only related to sport, but also touches on the history of railways in the region,” he said. “The old Prince Edward Island Railway passed through here. The coach is a transport system and it somehow connects the old railway with the current industrial vibe. It was also a central area where people came to congregate in the community, so we wanted to add a place for people to do just that.

As well as a meaningful brand and pub-style presentation, Pitre said they want to keep things fresh, local and consistent when it comes to their food.

“I find that in Prince Edward Island a lot of people like to support local products, but with the chains a lot of them don’t bring local products like Larkin Farms chicken or MacQuarrie’s Meats , getting it all fresh from the harvest,” he said. “Everything will be fresh and homemade as much as possible,” Anderson added, “so you’re getting something a little higher than typical pub food.”

Both Anderson and Pitre said they want to source as much local produce as possible, including food, drink and even entertainment.

As for Coach’s opening date, Pitre said they’re aiming for mid-to-late February. The restaurant is still under construction, with the lower level of the restaurant largely empty.

Outside of construction, the restaurant is in the process of hiring staff, which they need much more with the new upstairs space.

“It’s just a bigger operation than what’s been here in the past,” Anderson said. “We think we’re going to be pretty busy even with COVID-19. There is a lot of space to spread over the two levels, so we need more staff to open everything.

So far, the response to the change has been positive, and despite creating a new menu and revamping the restaurant as a whole, Pitre said there was one thing they wouldn’t change.

“What will remain the same is the relationship with the customer,” he said. “I know when people came to Outriders they loved it because when they walked in the door people knew their name, and that’s not going to change. We are equally motivated in this aspect. Obviously, there are changes, but it’s up to others to give us a chance.

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Things to know

• To follow the evolution and the possible opening of the Coach’s Restaurant and Sports Bar, follow his Facebook page

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Cody McEachern is a business reporter with the SaltWire Network in Prince Edward Island.

Twitter.com/CodyInHiFi

In keeping with the times, Bay Shore’s oldest bar has undergone a makeover that involves wormwood sparkles, ghost cuisine serving fried chicken sandwiches and a sparkling disco ball.

Goldy’s Gems debuted on December 17 inside the remnants of the Southside Bar, which has functioned as a waterhole since the 1930s and was purchased by current owner Lessing’s Hospitality Group in 2013. Loosely finished the facade Tudor and the wooded interior of the pub, and in their place is a slate gray exterior aware and, inside, a lounge of low leather armchairs and sofas, a DJ booth and a faux painted bookcase. the woodwork.

The original bar with mirror, moved from Brooklyn to the Bay Shore in 1933 at the end of Prohibition, is still in place, as are the beamed ceilings and an overall good-natured vibe.

The focus is on $ 14 cocktails crafted by bartending consultant Thomas Crawford and Goldy’s CEO Corinne Koubek. They fall into three camps: the classics (negroni, old fashioned, a martini made with both vodka and gin), modern riffs (a G&T sour made with cordial tonic, green tea, black pepper , meringue and lemon, or rum with sherry and sparkling wine) and boilermakers who pair various beers and shots (think Miller High Life with rye and Benedictine). The 10 taps are dominated by local beers, plus a few more by the bottle and can, and a handful of wines by the glass.

Deep in the space, a vaguely camouflaged booth is the home of house DJ James McGaley and a rotating cast of guest artists; a schedule is coming up, said Lessings marketing director Jennifer Cantin.

Lest it seem like alcohol is the only thing on the menu, customers can scan a QR code to view the menu for Lucky Clucker, Lessings’ ghost kitchen focused on fried chicken sandwiches and which has opened its doors. doors in 2020. The crispy chicken sandwiches – some glazed with hot sauce, others topped with mayonnaise, all on brioche buns – can be ordered at the bar or picked up from a window on the side of the building.

Southside began life as the Southside Hotel in 1930. Among the list of long-time owners was Carl Wolff, responsible for transporting the bar to the Bay Shore at the end of Prohibition; he died in 1964. Formerly known as Schiller’s, Goldy’s Gems retains a historic taproot: Cantin said the name, along with its swirling logo, was based on an old photo found in the basement of a softball team wearing T-shirts printed with… well, Goldy’s Gems.

“The story is that there was a jewelry store in Bay Shore called Goldberg’s, but we couldn’t find it in the Bay Shore story,” Cantin wrote in an email.

Soon, the bar will inaugurate a weekend brunch of chicken and waffles and “bottomless” mimosas. For now, it opens at 4 pm on weekdays and at noon on weekends, staying open until “late”.

Goldy’s Gems, 5 Third Ave., Bay Shore, 631-665-9596. goldysgems.com

New concept of dueling piano arrives in Dallas-Fort Worth: Called Piano Bar, it’s a venue featuring dueling pianists playing familiar tunes in a friendly atmosphere, and it opens at The Star in Frisco in the spring of 2022.

Low Key was started in Tempe in 2015 by Austin Walter and his father Kenny Walter, who recognized the growing demand for piano bars and created their own. They have retained some traditional concepts but with a modern twist. This included baby grand pianos, more screens, a high-end atmosphere, and a superior sound system.

This will be the second location of the concept.

Low Key embraces a relaxed vibe, with lively performances by local artists, food and drink, and a standing invitation to members of the public to join in on the show.

The bar menu features large 40-ounce fishbowl drinks, which have become increasingly popular, and fun offerings like the Jell-O “syringes”. Most drinks are $ 9.

The food includes staples such as gains, potato skins, mozzarella sticks, chicken fillets, cheese garlic bread, pizzas, and a large menu of mill sandwiches including steak with Philly cheese, turkey and ham and cheese. In a fun way, some boast of song titles or references such as the bacon, ham and salami sandwich called “Bohemian Rhapsody” and the meatball sub called “On Top of Spaghetti”.

They had a second location in Glendale, Arizona, but it closed in 2020 during the pandemic.

Founder Austin Walter has partnered with two successful Dallas-Fort Worth operators to bring it to town: David Lam Nguyen, whose portfolio includes The Tipsy Alchemist, Barcadia and Sidebar; and James Hoffman, owner of the Varsity Tavern in Fort Worth.

It will be located at 6765 Winning Dr., # 810, in a space formerly occupied by Jihwaja Korean BBQ, which closed in 2019.

Nguyen is optimistic about The Star; he is the mastermind behind Snow Bird Cocktail Lounge & Kitchen, an upscale Art Deco-inspired lounge with cocktails, small bites and music, which he opens at the Star with his partner Sobe Ahmed.

DFW is not without a piano bar duel: there’s Louie Louie’s in Deep Ellum and Pete’s, the Austin-based chain with branches in Addison and Fort Worth. Looks like we like dueling piano bars around here. Looks like we’re having fun.

The Star is currently in the midst of a sort of revival, with five new concepts on the books including Lombardi Cucina Italiana, The Glen & Monarch Stag, Sidecar Social and a new location for Roti Grill.

And now the Low Key Piano Bar has six.

Historically, our casinos have not needed the prototypical sports bar. If you were watching a game on the Strip you are probably betting on it, so the bookie and his hot dog cart or deli counter would do. If you’re a local, you’d be at your favorite tavern down the street watching the football team you were rooted for before you moved to Vegas.

Things change. Even before Vegas had its own major league teams, the Strip had become a sports mecca that needed bigger and better books and different types of places providing food and drink to fuel the fun. Now, the majority of mega-resorts offer at least one sports bar; it appears to have replaced the old 24 hour cafe in the casino wallet plan.

That doesn’t mean locals are leaving their pubs and heading to the Strip to watch the Golden Knights and Raiders on TV. But we could. And if you want to give it a try, you might not find a better place than Chickie’s & Pete’s, the recently opened Philadelphia transplant in the Sahara.

First of all, the renovated Sahara is easily accessible and has free parking. Second, the sports bar space is completely unrecognizable from the old-fashioned hamburger restaurant with an unremarkable design. It now has an open and vibrant atmosphere, with plenty of bar seating and large, comfortable cabins. In addition, you can bet from inside the restaurant.

Most importantly, the menu hits hard with every favorite bar fare imaginable and adds iconic seafood offerings to the mix. Onion rings, nachos, wings, burgers, pizzas, Buffalo Chicken or Chicken Parm sandwiches, all are well represented here. If it’s hard to choose, you haven’t brought enough friends for this watch party.

‘World Famous’ Crab Fries ($ 9) are excellent wavy cuts with Old Bay seasoning and premium cheese sauce for dipping. You can get them with crabmeat, cheese and aioli ($ 25) or with lobster in butter ($ 29), but the more basic are quite addicting, so be careful.

For a Philly joint, Chickie’s & Pete’s cheesesteak ($ ​​17) is a bit pedestrianized, but if you’re wild you can get one with lobster on top ($ 27). Thin-crust crispy pizzas are also topped with seafood, like Lisa’s Blonde Lobster Pie ($ 39), a great centerpiece for your table.

The selection of sandwiches is endless, from roast pork ($ 15) to hot or chilled lobster rolls ($ 29). The Ultimate Tailgate Burger ($ 27) lays a crabcake on top of a thick beef patty with melting American cheese, and it works. And the huge selection of rotating beers offers a full array of flavors as well, including some of favorite local beers like Bad Beat’s A Gose Has No Name, Banger Brewing’s Morning Joe, and German pilsner Able Baker’s Excited State.

At Chickie’s & Pete’s, there are plenty of ways you can do this, but one of the best is to share an order of fries and the Crabfeast, a market-priced treat that includes a two-pound Dungeness crab, a pound of crab legs. Snow and three East Coast Blue Claw Crabs. It’s the bar dining experience that made this place famous, and it’s just as delicious next to a game of hockey or football in Las Vegas.

CHICKIE’S & PETE’S Sahara, 702-761-8070. Monday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, 11 am-11pm; Saturday, 10:30 am to 11:00 pm; Sunday, 9:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.

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ELMHURST, IL – A new sports bar and grill and liquor store are planned for a building in Elmhurst that has been unoccupied since last year.

As part of the liquor licensing process, the city, Thursday displayed online information on the map.

The bar and liquor store are planned for a 14,000 square foot building at 630 W. Lake St, which was once occupied by Arena Sports Grille and later Throw Nation.

The new owner told the city he will be renovating the site significantly, including both the interior and exterior. A single owner plans to control the two companies, which will operate separately, according to information from the city.

The companies will be called Arena Sports Bar & Grill and Lyon Beverage Depot, the city said.

City documentation includes a business plan, with the owner speaking in first person. But the name of the owner is not included.

The owner said the name Arena was chosen because of the previous restaurant which operated in the same building for 37 years.

“I will not try to justify that this bar will be very different from any other typical bar. It is a typical bar and restaurant which will have an excellent menu of food and drink,” said the owner in the business plan . “To set ourselves apart from our competitors, we will also have a menu with healthy options. “

As for Lyon Beverage Depot, the owner said it would be a conventional liquor store.

“However, due to the type of neighborhood we find ourselves in, we will specialize in premium wine and craft beers,” said the owner.

The documents do not say when the businesses would open.

Horseshoe Casino Baltimore is gearing up for the sports betting rollout in Maryland with a new sportsbook and sports bar on the first floor of its South Baltimore facility. The Brew Brothers will occupy a space vacated by Guy Fieri’s Baltimore Kitchen & Bar and the casino’s Caesars Sportsbook will open adjacent to the space.

Both concepts are currently under construction by Baltimore general contractor Mahogany Inc. The Brew Brothers will open later this fall. The opening date for retail sports betting will be determined by the state regulatory review process.

The Brew Brothers was established by the Carano family in 1995 at the Eldorado Resort Casino in Reno, Nevada. It was named “Best Brewpub in America” ​​by Nightclub & Bar magazine. The venue will feature a long list of local draft beers and craft cocktails, along with a range of dining options including custom burgers, wings, salads, ribs, specialty pizzas, tacos, pasta dishes and desserts.

The Brew Brothers will be led by Horseshoe Baltimore Executive Chef Samantha Love and Brew Brothers Chef Anthony Copeland. Lisa Koerner will be the general manager of the restaurant.

Horseshoe Casino Baltimore will hire a total of 60 new employees to staff The Brew Brothers. And, the casino is offering a $ 500 signing bonus to employees who stay longer than 90 days.

The Brew Brothers will accommodate a total of 250 customers indoors and on its outdoor patio. It will have plenty of televisions and two “fan caves” for private group parties.

“We are excited to bring the Brew Brothers concept to Baltimore,” said Anthony Carano, President and COO of Caesars Entertainment, in a press release. “In addition to serving the best pub food in Baltimore, we’ll also work with four outstanding local brewers – DuClaw Brewing Company, Union Craft Brewing, Checkerspot Brewing Company and Diamondback Brewing Company – to bring our customers 24 of the area’s most popular. . draft beer options. The Brew Brothers will be the perfect place in Charm City to check out all of the sporting action kicking off later this football season.

“No bookie is complete without great food and drink,” said Randy Conroy, senior vice president and general manager of Horseshoe Baltimore, in a press release. “As sports betting is approved in Maryland, the addition of The Brew Brothers Sports Bar and Restaurant will make the Horseshoe the best place in the area for patrons to catch their favorite games.”

As two new concepts arrive at Horseshoe Casino Baltimore, the COVID-19 pandemic has left the establishment with several vacant restaurant positions. GDL Italian by Giada has closed its restaurant on the second floor, and Guy’s Bar-B-Que Joint and Lenny’s Deli have closed at the Baltimore Marketplace food court.

Courtesy of Horseshoe Casino Baltimore

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