Coming to Pompano: Revelry Plates and Potions, a funky beer lounge ‘inspired by your crazy aunt’s living room’

An ex-concert promoter and a burlesque dancer have joined forces to open Revelry Plates & Potions in Pompano Beach, a new beer and wine lounge they describe as “inspired by your crazy aunt’s living room.”

At 2,600 square feet, the hangout from owners Zena Tarantino and Brando Garcia is scheduled to open this October at 227 S. Federal Highway, and will traffic in nostalgia and nerd culture. Think screenings of ’80s and ’90s classics like “Top Gun” and “Cape Fear” on VHS, eclectic mismatched furniture, books and cosplay, plus the joyful noise of local bands. There are even tabletop shenanigans, from Dungeons & Dragons to a “Golden Girls” board game.

“It’s like walking into a living room with a vintage TV and you can pop a tape in the VCR and just watch,” Tarantino tells the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “But please be kind and rewind. I mean it. There’s a VHS rewinder next to the TV that looks like a 1980s Mercedes Coupe.”

Tarantino and Garcia say the lounge is a revival of their original bar of the same name off Lake Avenue in Lake Worth Beach. That convivial-but-cramped space drew a cult following when it opened in 2017, as a place where “strangers became friends very quickly” until it closed in 2021 during the pandemic, Garcia says.

Tarantino and Garcia’s new location, by contrast, is three times bigger, accommodating a full food menu under new chef Paul Pincus (ex-Rivertail in Fort Lauderdale), plus burlesque shows on weekends and a boutique with secondhand clothing and handmade jewelry. The vibe is a nod to the indie-bohemian cheek of bygone bars Churchill’s Pub and Tobacco Road, and may conjure memories of hipsterific watering holes like Ginger’s Bar & Restaurant on Oakland Park Boulevard and Two&, the Las Olas Boulevard spot that blended alcohol, antiques and bike repairs.

“We’ll have much nicer bathrooms than Churchill’s,” Garcia, of Pompano Beach, says with a laugh. “We want to focus on bringing in music that people in Pompano want to hear, be it punk or experimental or hip-hop.”

Tarantino dubs Revelry a “one-stop shop,” providing an alternative to the chain restaurants and taverns that have proliferated in Broward County since the pandemic.

“People want a small atmosphere and the familiarity that’s not a chain, and we’re here for it,” she adds.

Tarantino is, by day, a burlesque performer at Broward haunts such as Unit B speakeasy bar, Fetish Factory and 26 Degree Brewing Co. She plans for Revelry to host burlesque brunches on Saturdays and bimonthly variety shows where burlesque will share a bill with comedians, ventriloquists and aerialists.

“It’s very carnival-style,” Tarantino says. “We’re that eclectic menagerie of curiosities, the type of curated show people don’t normally see.”

The bar’s 14 taps will pour domestic and craft beer from local breweries including Gulf Stream Brewing Co. and 26 Degrees, and there’s a rotating lineup of red and white wines and craft cocktails. There will also be what Tarantino calls a “brew barter system,” where customers can donate VHS movies, books and magazines in exchange for a pint.

Even the gastropub-style menu is on the experimental side. The Brooklyn-born chef, Pincus, left his gig as executive chef for Jose Mendin’s Rivertail in March to join Revelry. Pincus says Revelry’s menu will feature dishes he has tested over his 20-year career in the kitchens of Rivertail, Bonefish Grill and Legends Tavern & Grille. They include his ZZ Burger, a ground-chuck patty topped with habanero whipped cream cheese and strawberry glaze on a toasted kaiser roll. That will join a TBA menu of housemade hummus, pita, pickle and olive plates, along with handhelds, salads and flatbreads.

Revelry Plates & Potions, at 227 S. Federal Highway, in Pompano Beach, is expected to open this October. Go to RevelryFLA.com.