Critic's Notebook

Vagabond Owner Carmel Ophir Rumored to Be Opening Barfly, New Club in Old Bar Space

It's been a pretty good week for all those downtown cool kids who've spent the last four months stone sober and cloaked in black, mourning the death of Bar, the OHWOW-owned hipster hangout that closed in July. Over the weekend, a group of Bar's ex-employees opened a new party spot...
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It’s been a pretty good week for all those downtown cool kids who’ve spent the last four months stone sober and cloaked in black, mourning the death of Bar, the OHWOW-owned hipster hangout that closed in July.

Over the weekend, a group of Bar’s ex-employees opened a new party spot called Mamushka’s in Wynwood. Like its predecessor, the joint boasts no cover, PBRs, and strict laws against bottle service.

And now there’s a rumor that the old Bar space at 28 NE 14th Street is getting a new tenant, reportedly named Barfly, the latest nightlife project by the building’s owner and Vagabond proprietor Carmel Ophir.

Several times in the last few days, we’ve spoken with Ophir by phone and text message, seeking details about the planned venue. When is Barfly opening? What’s the concept? Will it be a live music venue? Or a low-key boozing place? And finally: Is the name a reference to Charles Bukowski’s 1987 cinematic classic starring Miami native Mickey Rourke?

Unfortunately, Ophir isn’t talking. And when pressed to confirm a project in progress, he’s played coy.

“I can neither confirm nor deny it,” he says.

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