After ten years as a popular Wynwood watering hole, Wood Tavern ran aground during the COVID-19 pandemic, closing its doors in March 2021. But locals haven’t forgotten Wood Tavern, and after several years of clamoring, they’re finally getting it back. Wood Tavern will take over the Shots Miami spot at 356 NW 24th Street for a run that is expected to last about a year, after which the bar will open in its new permanent home at 720 NW 21st Street in Allapattah.
“It’s a no-frill bar, a local hang out. It’s very a straightforward, jack-and-coke, traditional kind of feel,” owner Cesar Morales told What Now on Wednesday. Despite its technically limited run, Morales says he doesn’t see the 24th Street location, which opens December 23, as a “pop-up” at all. “This is the real thing. It’s going to be fully operational.”
The story of Wood Tavern’s pandemic-era closing is a familiar one. Here was a beloved local spot—described in recent coverage by the Miami New Times as “a veritable bohemian oasis during the arts district’s formative years…where countless hipsters (and Miami New Times staffers) gathered for reasonably priced drinks in a decidedly no-judgment space”—for which the math just stopped working when clientele could no longer gather in droves.
Now, though, Morales says the move to Allapattah and the streamlining of the bar’s processes will allow for drinks that are more affordable than ever (with some top-shelf spirits like Grey Goose pouring at $8.75).
“I’m very public about the business side,” said Morales. “Rent was always high at the original, and it was sustainable when so many people came—it was amazing—but with the pandemic it was just not sustainable. This time it’s a totally different deal. The rent is more affordable, and the business is leaner, so here comes Wood Tavern again with affordable pricing and no pretentiousness. That’s the ethos of the place.”
You can support this local gem and check out Wood Tavern merch at bringwoodback.com
