By CLIFF DUNN
You may not have gotten your invitation to attend the Royal Nuptials between His Royal Highness Prince William of Wales and his future consort, Kate Middleton (bear in mind the couple sent out 1,900 invites, so yours may just be lost in the mail), but Cliff Mulcahy and John Zieba, the owners of Rosie’s Bar & Grill in Wilton Manors, have your ticket to a “Rehearsal Dinner” for the Royal Couple fit for a Queen (or Drag King, for that matter).
Tonight (Thursday, April 28, just hours away from the real wedding), Rosie’s commands the attendance of every Queen, Princess, and Lady-in-Waiting from 7 to 11 p.m. for their faux wedding rehearsal dinner, which will include an Ugliest Bridesmaid Dress Contest, hosted by entertainer Joe Posa performing as Joan Rivers.
Although Prince Wills and Lady Kate will be decked out in their finest (and veddy British) duds, the Lords and Ladies of Rosie’s mandate that guests attending the Rehearsal don ugly dresses, big wedding hats, and whatever passes for your “crown jewels.” And while a Vanity Fair/60 Minutes poll earlier this year found that 65% of Americans said they could care less about the Royal Wedding, clearly none of them lives in the gayborhood, where the world’s largest concentration of Queens and wanna-bees may be found.
Rain Man Can’t Dance, But He Is An Excellent Driver
Miami is poised for the grand opening of Johnny’s Club, Bar & Lounge’s new location South of the (Broward) Border and, while Open for Business has it on the best authority that impresario Sean David is pulling out all the stops to bring hot dancers, great music and a VIP vibe to the Magic City, in spite of what you may have read elsewhere, there’s no apparent truth to the rumor that he is employing the best “autistics” money can buy. On the other hand, we hear that the sound system will be kicking – taking full advantage of the venue’s superlative acoustics. Is there a Copy Editor in the house?
Gary and Reece’s Peaces
An interesting exchange between Wilton Manors Mayor Gary Resnick and Reece Darham, owner of Island City Health & Fitness (ICHF), during the April 20 General Meeting of the Rainbow Business Coalition (RBC) of Greater Fort Lauderdale: Darham, who serves as the chair of RBC, had just complimented and thanked Wilton Manors officials for waiving city license and permitting fees for the upcoming Consumer Trade Show in Hagen Park, which the gay business and community group is sponsoring as part of the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association‘s (IGLTA) 28th Annual Convention, coming to Greater Fort Lauderdale May 10 through 15. Darham, feeling waggish, enquired of His Honor if the city would likewise suspend fees for the June 19 Stonewall Wilton Manors Street Festival and Parade and the Halloween-themed Wicked Manors in October. The mayor’s rejoinder: would the fitness club owner be willing to waive gym membership fees at ICHF for city employees in exchange for this consideration? Less than a beat later, Darham responded in the affirmative, to the applause of the fifty-plus RBC members and guests in attendance.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the Children of God.” Matthew 5:9.
(Disclaimer: Open for Business can’t even spell quid pro quo, much less know what it means.)
Little Nicky’s Knows the Bear Necessities
One of the area’s newest Italian ristorantes, Little Nicky’s, knows that a growing Bear (or Cub, or Otter) needs to eat, and they have a menu that will please the most voracious Kodiak appetite. Less than two months old, their Dixie Highway and Commercial Blvd. location (two doors down from Publix on the northwest corner) is jumping with a crowd that means business when it comes to il mangiare.
Little Nicky’s has a terrific ambience and a welcoming atmosphere, whether one is mezzo-soprano or Tony Soprano. Owners Jeffrey and Bobby (one of whom is gay, the other very gay-friendly; we leave it to you to figure which is which) offer free delivery to all places in the gayborhood and parts beyond, and if you’re in training for Bear Nation, Open for Business recommends their Hungry Bear Special, which includes two of their signature 16” cheese pizzas, two salads (even a Grizzly has to watch his mid-section on occasion), 12 garlic knots, and a two-liter of soda for $19.95. Leave room for dessert? Yeah, right.
If you’re “Open for Business”, you can contact Business Writer and Director of Sales, Cliff Dunn, with your story at Business@FloridaAgenda.com