Bizaare Ave Café first opened in January 1997, housed in a building that was originally built in 1926 in downtown Lake Worth, Florida and renovated in 2005.
We first opened our doors as a Tapas Wine Bar / Thrift store fusion. This concept came about because of the TV show ‘Friend’s’; “I liked the coffee shop concept on the show with sofa’s, coffee tables and wing backed chairs but I don’t drink coffee” said Al Salopek. So we decided to serve wine! The thrift store infusion came from the fact that there was a thrift store in that location for 10 years prior to the restaurant.
We have been described as being a “Soho” type of underground cafe. Our interior decor is a cross between an English country house and a trendy Nantucket Island eatery. You’ll find overstuffed chairs and comfy sofas arranged around coffee tables, all of which are for sale. In fact when you take a look around you will notice that everything in the restaurant is for sale…from the art on the walls to the plates that you’re eating on! Hence the name Bizaare! A play of words between a bazaar where you go to buy something and bizarre, out of the ordinary and unusual!
My wife Keely is in charge of all the items for sale, which are always changing, said Salopek. So if you see something you like you had better buy it when you first see it, as we cannot guarantee the re-ordering availability. Over the many years our most popular item sold would probably be the lanterns placed on each table. We also sell many pictures, lamps and knick-knacks displayed all around. On the odd occasion we have been known to sell a sofa or two … in leather or cloth. However, it does get very interesting when the customer (after a glass of wine or two) requests to take it with them that very evening – and whilst another customer is still sitting on it. ha ha If the customer can wait they may receive a brand new item which will be shipped to us within 2-3 business days. Thinking back, one of our most unique items for sale was a dining table made out of an antique door – this table sat 6-8 people and created quite a conversation piece. Consequently it SOLD!
We do ship our items at customers request …. I remember two very pink, velour wing backed chairs made their way to Boston! Again another conversation piece and still sadly missed!
Here at Bizaare, we have created a welcoming, cozy atmosphere where one would feel at home entertaining friends with good food and fine wine in our small but quaint, 75 seat restaurant. Our eclectic menu was created with the tapas theme in mind …. smaller type dishes which we encourage our guest to share. Therefore experiencing and enjoying more menu items in just one visit. Our most popular being our Toasted Bruschetta, Chicken & Artichoke Crepe and our famous Baked Brie which is wrapped in puff pastry and drizzled with raspberry sauce – served with bread, apples, strawberries and grapes.
We have an extensive wine list of 166 bottles of which approximately 50 are available by the glass – most range in price from $20 - $40 per bottle. We serve wine in a 4oz glass called the ‘café glass or our very generous 8oz pour. You will see on our wine list our very own wine label which is available in Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, White Zinfandel and Chardonnay. Bizaare wines are blended especially together for us by the Morgan Hill Vineyard in California and have been available to our customers for the past 3 years.
We have omitted any vintages of wines from our wine list as the vintages available to us change occasionally. Therefore, not to mislead our customers, we will inform them on the day of dining which vintages we have available. Our customers are as diverse as our wine list from the amateur to the connoisseur and therefore with this in mind have created our chosen wines.
As of last year after the renovation of the ‘upstairs at Bizaare’ we now have become a full liquor restaurant.
Here at Bizaare Ave Cafe we offer a Lunch Menu in addition to our tapas menu from 11:30am – 4:30pm Monday – Saturday
Our Before The Crowd Menu where you receive a glass of wine, soup or salad, entrée and a dessert for just $17.95 anytime between 5pm – 7pm Monday – Saturday
Happy Hour is available at our bar only from 5pm – 7pm drinks and featured wines Monday – Saturday
Or join us on Monday or Tuesday to hear Billy Yeager’s 3rd year of entertaining our guests with a truly bizaare infusion of progressive jazz, flamenco and rock’n roll with his guitar
