What does it take to open a tiki bar on SE 17th Street? For Old School Hospitality, it took buying the property for roughly $1 million in 2021, tearing down the restaurant building that stood there, and putting up a custom three-story structure that ran into about two years of delays before construction even started, according to Hoodline. Hula Kai opened on September 26.
Five days later, Barchetta opened farther east on the same street, beside the Broward County Convention Center. In December, Pelican Landing is due back at Pier Sixty-Six. None of these three is a newcomer betting on a new street. Each comes from an owner that already had a stake on 17th Street and chose to add to it, and the way each one is built shows who it is meant for.
The west end: one group adding a third door
Hula Kai sits in the Lauderdale Harbor plaza at 1075 SE 17th St., next door to Quarterdeck and Whiskey Neat. Old School Hospitality runs all three, and Hoodline describes the group as completing a multi-concept entertainment strip it has been building along the corridor. CEO James Flanigan leads the group. His father, Paul Flanigan, bought the Quarterdeck brand from Flanigan's Enterprises in 1986, so the family has been in this business for four decades.
The building is large for a bar. It covers 5,000 square feet across three levels, with 24-foot ceilings and room for more than 200 guests. The ground floor is a bar, the second floor is a banquette dining mezzanine, and the rooftop holds the Ohana Lounge. Prop designer Rodney Ray of HeadHunter Props and Fabrication handled the décor: giant tiki masks, a pirate figure hanging from the ceiling, and a riveted aluminum bar modeled on a World War II airplane.
The drinks are the show. The Zombie gets topped with Wray & Nephew rum, set on fire and dusted with cinnamon. The My Kind of Rye comes in a pig-shaped mug. The Hula Kai menu leans Pacific and pan-Asian, with Thai chicken satay, blue-corn fried calamari, tuna tacos, a pu pu platter and the Big Kahuna shrimp pineapple fried rice. Fort Lauderdale already has the Mai-Kai in Oakland Park, and Hula Kai doesn't try to copy it. A 2022 Sun Sentinel report, as summarized by Hoodline, describes Hula Kai as a modern pan-Asian tiki bar, not a mid-century reproduction.
The hours have already changed once since opening. In early October, Hoodline reported 5 p.m. openings, Tuesdays closed, no reservations, and lunch expected sometime in November. The restaurant's own site now lists Monday through Friday from 4 to 11 p.m. and weekends from noon to 11 p.m. The kitchen closes an hour before the bar, and reservations are taken only for groups of six or more at 954-222-TIKI. With hours still shifting this early, it's worth a quick call before a weeknight visit.
The middle: a county-owned hotel courting its neighbors
Barchetta opened on October 1 at 1880 SE 17th St., on the waterfront plaza between the Omni Fort Lauderdale Hotel and the Broward County Convention Center, overlooking the Intracoastal. It's easy to read a convention hotel restaurant as something for out-of-town badge holders. The Omni's general manager framed it differently.
"Since the hotel opened last December, we have envisioned Omni Fort Lauderdale as a place that would become part of the fabric of this community," Gayla Guyse said in the hotel's opening announcement. "It gives our local community, convention attendees and visitors a new reason to experience the waterfront."
Ownership helps explain that pitch. The hotel is owned by Broward County, and Barchetta is its seventh food and drink venue, joining Reef 76 Kitchen + Bar, Fair Ketch, Ibis Sky Lounge, Hidden Key, Tide Coastal Kitchen and Leeward Market. The announcement says the opening adds about 52 jobs.
The kitchen is an Italian chophouse with a coastal lean, led by executive chef David Caceres. Highlights include the Bistecca Fiorentina, a prime T-bone for two; Frutti di Mare with Florida black grouper and Kaluga caviar; and bucatini cacio e pepe with black truffle. The Barchetta menu also lists a seafood tower among the antipasti. At the bar, the Pomodoro Negroni uses tomato-basil-washed gin, and the Day Drift mixes Prosecco with J.F. Haden's Lychee Liqueur from Miami's Tropical Distillery. The name is Italian for "little boat," which fits a dining room facing the Intracoastal.
The east end: a familiar name coming home in December
Pelican Landing is the only one of the three that people may remember from before. The Sun Sentinel called it a longtime Fort Lauderdale waterfront restaurant returning to Pier Sixty-Six Marina at 2301 SE 17th St. Its menu includes conch fritters, blackened tide tacos, seasonal stone crab claws, spiny lobster, Key West shrimp and a raw bar. Aldo Novoa, the resort's director of culinary, told the paper the goal was nostalgia: "from long afternoons at the marina and the first bite of stone crab to gathering around the table after a day on the boat."
That September article gave October 17 as the opening date. The current Visit Lauderdale listing now says December 2026 and describes a two-story, open-air dockside spot you can reach by land or by water. Visit Lauderdale's fall release places it over the largest superyacht marina on the East Coast, as part of the resort's multibillion-dollar redevelopment.
Until December, Pier Sixty-Six already has plenty of tables open to the public. Pier Sixty-Six's dining page lists Calusso, Sotogrande, Garni Café, Pier Top, Windows on 66, Elate, Saltbreeze and The Nectar Room. Several welcome visitors who aren't staying at the resort, while the poolside venues and two private club restaurants and bars are limited to eligible guests or members. Pier Top, on the 17th floor of the resort's tower, still revolves and makes a full turn every 66 minutes. Sotogrande serves Spanish and Mediterranean dishes along the marina. Diners get validated parking at $15 for up to three hours and $35 beyond that, and special-event rates can be different.
Reading the street by the clock
Each of the three owners chose different hours, so the time of day decides which end of the street makes sense.
| Spot | Address | Open | Reservations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hula Kai Tiki Bar | 1075 SE 17th St. | Mon–Fri 4–11 p.m.; Sat–Sun noon–11 p.m. | Groups of six or more, by phone |
| Barchetta | 1880 SE 17th St. | Tue–Sun 5–11 p.m., to midnight Fri–Sat; kitchen closes 10 p.m.; closed Monday | OpenTable |
| Pier Top and other Pier Sixty-Six venues | 2301 SE 17th St. | Varies by venue | Varies by venue |
| Pelican Landing | 2301 SE 17th St. | Opening December 2026 | Not yet announced |
On a weekend, the day starts at the west end, since Hula Kai opens at noon on Saturdays and Sundays. On Mondays, Barchetta is dark, which leaves the tiki bar and the Pier Sixty-Six venues. Barchetta's kitchen closes at 10 p.m. even on nights when the bar stays open until midnight, so a late table there means drinks, not dinner.
The port runs on its own schedule. Royal Caribbean's Legend of the Seas begins homeporting at Port Everglades in November, carrying up to 7,600 guests per sailing. Its naming cruise itinerary lists a departure from Fort Lauderdale at 10 p.m. on Wednesday, November 11, and a return at 6 a.m. on Saturday, November 14. That Wednesday sailing leaves while Barchetta's dining room is still serving.
Still unsettled on the corridor
- Pelican Landing's exact day. The listing says December 2026. The date has already moved once, from October 17.
- Chela's. The Miami Lakes restaurant is set to debut this fall in the waterfront district around Port Everglades, according to Visit Lauderdale, which hasn't published a street address or date.
- Hula Kai's settled hours. The posted schedule is newer than the opening-week reports, and the group was still adding lunch as of early October.
If you're thinking about how this side of the city is changing, whether that's a Harbor Beach home near the new tables or a waterfront condo within reach of Pier Sixty-Six, the advisors at Engel & Völkers Fort Lauderdale follow these corridors closely and are happy to talk through what they mean for you.
