"Five years in the future, I see myself competing against Las Olas." James Flanigan said that to the South Florida Sun Sentinel while standing on the roof of Hula Kai Tiki Bar, his new three-level tiki bar at 1075 SE 17th St. It opened to the public on Sept. 25 after four years of construction.
The 17th Street corridor is being built into somewhere to spend an evening, and the work is happening at both ends of the bridge at the same time. On the west side, one local operator is buying a block piece by piece. On the east side, the developer behind Pier Sixty-Six already runs a restaurant row that locals can use, and its next phase is now in front of the city. This month, the west end has the newest room, the east end has the most seats, and the two pieces still in progress are a marina restaurant and a commission vote.
The West End Is Being Bought One Building at a Time
The Sun Sentinel's look inside Hula Kai describes the bar as the first piece of an entertainment district Flanigan is assembling near Cordova Road. The block runs from Harbordale Elementary on the west to a closed Winn-Dixie on the east, with Waxy's Irish Pub to the south and his own Quarterdeck to the north. He started buying property there in 2021, beginning with the old Green Bar & Kitchen building. He took that building down in 2023 to build Hula Kai, and he estimates he now owns 35 percent of the block.
That pace explains the wait. Hula Kai was supposed to open in 2024. Costly delays followed, including drilling a new well to meet the city's storm drain rules. For now, the rest of the block is still a low strip of a vape shop, a Filipino restaurant, a coin laundromat and a cellphone store. Flanigan's longer plan is upscale retail, including a quick-service chocolate shop across the alley.
He also explained to the paper why he chose tiki. His neighbors, Village Well Pub, Waxy's Irish Pub and his own Whiskey Neat, already cover the pub and whiskey crowd, so a tiki bar adds a new kind of evening to the street. It doesn't compete with what's already there.
What Hula Kai Actually Serves
The building is 5,000 square feet with 200 seats, and each level feels different. The ground floor has an 18-seat bar backed by a rum wall, carved Moai heads, and high-tops that open onto a palm-framed courtyard. The mezzanine has vintage masks and ocean-blue banquettes. The shaded rooftop has 36 seats around an L-shaped bar, with views of the downtown skyline. The theming is by Rodney Ray, the immersive tiki designer behind Permanent Vacation in central Florida.
Head chef Jonathan Jimenez and head mixologist Nicolette Bonkowski run a menu priced like a neighborhood bar. Here is what the Sun Sentinel reported:
- Lemongrass chicken satay, hoisin chili sticky ribs and teriyaki bao buns, each $16
- Green papaya salad, $14
- Pan-seared grouper sandwich, $20
- Pineapple-bowl fried rice and a ginger-garlic Hawaiian-style N.Y. strip, each $32
- 13 cocktails from $16 to $23, including My Kinda Rye, served in a pig-shaped vessel
Aloha Specials run 4 to 7 p.m. on weekdays, with half off appetizers, beer, wine and signature cocktails. Hula Kai's own site lists hours of 4 to 11 p.m. on weekdays and noon to 11 p.m. on weekends. The kitchen closes an hour before the bar, and reservations are taken only for groups of six or more. Hoodline's opening report gave a Tuesday closure and a 5 p.m. start, so call 954-536-0804 before a weeknight visit.
Across the Bridge, the Resort Already Works as a Restaurant Row
The east end got its anchor earlier. Pier Sixty-Six officially reopened on Jan. 10, 2025. Mayor Dean Trantalis told the Sun Sentinel that Tavistock "brought in great restaurants and a great public area" there. Several of the resort's restaurants and lounges welcome visitors as well as resort guests. Poolside venues such as Saltbreeze and The Nectar Room, along with two private club restaurants and bars, are reserved for eligible guests or members. Here is the resort's current schedule for the rooms a visitor can book:
| Venue | What it is | Published hours |
|---|---|---|
| Elate | Lobby market café | Daily, 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. |
| Garni | French-leaning bistro | Breakfast daily 7 a.m. to noon; brunch Sat.–Sun. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. |
| Sotogrande | Spanish and Mediterranean, on the marina | Weekend lunch Sat.–Sun., noon to 4 p.m. |
| Windows on 66 | Vodka and gin lounge | Sun.–Thu. 3 p.m. to midnight; Fri.–Sat. noon to midnight |
Pier Top sits above all of that, on the 17th floor. The lounge makes one full rotation every 66 minutes. Walk-ins are welcome, reservations are encouraged, and every guest must be 21 or older.
Getting there is part of what makes this end work for locals. Restaurant guests get validated parking at $15 for up to three hours and $35 for longer. Coming from the 17th Street bridge, cross the causeway, turn left onto Harbour Inlet Drive, then make an immediate left onto the 17th Street Access Road to reach the garage. The resort is stop No. 5 on the Fort Lauderdale water taxi route, between C and B docks at the North Marina. If you're coming by boat, Dock & Dine at Calusso or Sotogrande needs advance reservations for both the slip and the table. The marina office is at 954-728-3578. Non-guests can also buy pool day-use access. The Zenova Spa is for resort guests and club members only.
Pelican Landing Is the Piece That Slipped
The east end's most familiar name hasn't come back yet. In September, the Sun Sentinel listed Pelican Landing at 2301 SE 17th St. with an Oct. 17 reopening, citing the resort's public relations firm. That date has passed. The restaurant's own site now reads "Opening December." The Pier Sixty-Six FAQ says December in one answer and late November 2026 in another.
The plan itself hasn't changed. Pelican Landing will be a two-story, open-air restaurant over the marina with superyachts alongside. The menu previewed in September included conch fritters, blackened tide tacos, seasonal stone crab, spiny lobster, Key West shrimp and a raw bar. Chef Aldo Novoa, the director of culinary, described it to the paper as "the feeling of being on the water and the memories that come with it." Until it opens, the marina-side seats at the resort are Sotogrande's weekend lunch and Calusso by reservation.
The Next Phase Is a Commission Vote Several Months Out
The east end's bigger question is what goes up next to the resort. Tavistock has proposed four mixed-use towers, each 270 feet tall, with 339 condos between them. One tower would go on the north side of 17th Street and three on the south side. The area's height cap is 120 feet. Several of the planned pieces would change daily life on the causeway: 17,000 square feet of restaurant space, a 14,000-square-foot boutique grocery store, and a 1.5-mile waterfront promenade open to the public.
The Sun Sentinel's Oct. 2 report says nearly 100 residents attended the second of three required community meetings, held in late September in the resort's Aviva Ballroom. Some Harbour Inlet residents have raised concerns about traffic, infrastructure, and late-afternoon shadows on their homes. Trantalis has said he is unsure the plan has been scaled back enough. Tavistock says the project will fit with the surrounding neighborhoods, and that some nearby residents support it. The proposal is still with the city's Development Review Committee. The rezoning needs at least four votes on the five-member commission, and that vote is likely several months away.
That leaves the two ends on different timelines. Flanigan sets his own pace on the west end, as fast as he can buy and build. On the east end, the shops, grocery and promenade that would bring people across the bridge on foot depend on a public process that hasn't reached a vote.
A November Evening Built Around the Causeway
The rest of the month adds a few dates near the corridor:
- Any weekday, 4 to 7 p.m. Aloha Specials at Hula Kai, then up to the rooftop for the skyline once the sun goes down.
- Thursday, Nov. 19, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Light Up the Beach at Las Olas Oceanside Park, 3000 E. Las Olas Blvd. The free event switches on more than 50,000 holiday lights, brings back Olas, the 20-foot beach snowman at A1A and Las Olas, and features the Fort Lauderdale Symphonic Winds. The same night, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., Flamingo Flea holds its Ladies Night Market at The Shorely in Marina Village, 951 Seabreeze Blvd.
- Saturday, Nov. 28, noon to 4 p.m. Flamingo Flea's Small Business Saturday market at Marina Village, with local goods, a beachside food hall and a DJ. Weekend brunch at Garni runs until 3 p.m. that day, so you can do both.
- Late November or December. Pelican Landing is the next big date on the east end. Check the restaurant's site before you plan around it.
If you live near the 17th Street Causeway and want to know how these changes on both ends of the bridge could affect your home, Austin Bergman follows this stretch closely. Schedule a confidential consultation.
