After 20 Years, Miami Beach Staple Purdy Lounge Announces Closure

A longtime watering hole in Miami Beach has declared it will close its doors February 8, 2020.

Purdy Lounge announced in a Facebook post Monday afternoon that the bar will shut down after a two-decade run.

“They say all good things must come to an end,” the post begins. “There is a lot you can do in 20 years, begin a new century, build a new business, develop a neighborhood, make new friends, strengthen bonds, dance, celebrate, cry, fall in love, and drink a few happy meals. We’ve covered all of it, but like we said, all good things must come to an end, and with gratitude and thanks to 20 years of parties, we say goodbye to Purdy Lounge.”

The bar, named for its location on Purdy Avenue in Miami Beach's Sunset Harbour neighborhood, debuted in 2000. Over the years, it became a popular destination for Miami’s hipper and chicer barflies. During its heyday in the mid- to late 2000s, Purdy acquired the nickname "Dirty Purdy," a moniker it tried to shed in more recent years by remodeling and rebranding itself as a more casual hangout. For several years, the Chocolate Sunday party thrown by Miami promoter Joel Meinholz and his production company, IAmYourVillian, made Purdy a must-attend spot for those hoping to extend the weekend’s festivities for as long as possible.

Purdy was also loved by international artists. In a November 2018 interview with New Times, Dave 1 of the electronic duo Chromeo said the bar was one of his favorite Miami hangs.

Dan Binkiewicz, Purdy’s owner and creator, tells New Times that the bar had a “magnificent run.”

“We're just really proud,” Binkiewicz says. “I thought I was opening a little neighborhood jazz bar... I'll just experiment with a DJ here, a DJ there, and within the next two months, it was blowing up. Right from the get-go, we realized that as much as we thought we were doing one thing, our guests were doing another."
Binkiewicz says he never thought Purdy would last as long as it did. He was even surprised when the bar reached its seventh anniversary.

“Miami Beach is a hard place to do business, so 20 years is amazing,” he says. “I can't believe the effect it’s had all over... I never expected it to last that long.”

Binkiewicz says Purdy will announce additional events to commemorate its run and the memories it helped to make.

“We're trying to plan a night that we'll announce where we're gonna roll back all our prices one night a week to what they were in 2000,” he says. “What I really want everyone to know is that it's not a sad ending. People may be sad it won't be there anymore, but we're extremely, extremely proud of it and for it to be there for so long. I’m not sad... Nothing lasts forever.”

He declined to elaborate on the circumstances behind the bar's closure.

The news will likely come as a relief to the Sunset Harbour Neighborhood Association, whose members engaged in a protracted battle with the bar and fought to have its operating hours curtailed. A July 2018 New Times feature quoted Sara de los Reyes, the past president of the homeowners association, who disapproved of the bar as well as the often loud clientele it attracted.

"The neighborhood has changed," de los Reyes said. "The Purdy Lounge shouldn't be there."

The post on the bar’s Facebook page concludes by thanking everyone who came through Purdy’s doors and extends an invitation to attend its final party February 8.

“No attitude, no cover, no bullshit,” the post says in a nod to the bar's motto. “Always and forever.”