Remembering Happy Times At Las Olas Riverfront

I have always had happy memories of the Fort Lauderdale Riverwalk and Las Olas Riverfront, a trendy shopping center that opened in 1998. I must have read about the opening in the Stuart News, when my sister Susan and I were down in Stuart, Florida visiting my mother Mary, and insisted we check it out. I remember that the first time we were there, we walked along the Riverwalk, which runs along the north side of the New River, and then had lunch at Cafe Tu Tu Tango in the Las Olas Riverfront complex. Susan was really quite taken with the napkins, and grabbed about a year's supply from a service stand on the way out. As we were leaving, I decided to distance myself from my sister and mother, planning to deny knowing them if they were apprehended by authorities. Fortunately, that never happened, and I took the photograph on the left of Susan and my mother. And by the way, if they were arrested, I would certainly have bailed them out not too much later.

The Fort Lauderdale Riverwalk is lined with cabin cruisers, yachts, and sightseeing boats, and is a joy for walking and people watching. Since it was only an hour or so from my mother's condo in Stuart, Florida, we visited  there a number of times. The waterfront walkway, as well as Las Olas Riverfront itself, was always crowded with locals and tourists. After my mother came to live with me up in Denver, we traveled back to her condo three times a year, but never had time to visit Fort Lauderdale. When my friends Valarie and Jake vacationed in Stuart a few years ago, I recommended all kinds of places to visit. I was planning on recommending Las Olas Riverfront, but never did, which turns out to be a good thing. The economic downturn in 2008 resulted in a major decline in business, and eventually only Las Olas Pizza remained as a tenant at the center. The complex began to be occupied by the homeless, and it also became a high crime area. In fact, an ATF agent was mugged there, and this was someone who was armed. I suspect Valarie and Jake would have survived, if I had recommended the place, but I also suspect they would have been a bit peeved at me.

Las Olas Riverfront was torn down in 2017, but on a positive note, one of two planned high rise apartment buildings, with lots of retail on the ground floor, has just opened for business on the site. Plus, The Wharf, a very trendy restaurant and bar with a large patio along the Riverwalk, has opened right next door. The place is so popular that when it reopened in November, after being closed due to the coronavirus, so many people crowded onto the patio, mostly maskless, that the place had to close again, and just reopened this past Thursday. Happily, The Wharf has new safeguards in place, and it's reopening coincided with temperatures in the 50s (which for Floridians is like experiencing sub-zero temperatures), resulting in a very modest number of customers. I can't wait to head back there and check out the action. My sister Susan will probably want to come along, also. I suspect The Wharf has very cool napkins, too.