I was in the Town Center today, and there's something new happening. All of the signs on Fresh are being removed and changed. It's now called "Azul Martini Lounge", and those big lips that were being complained about when it opened have now been replaced by a martini glass logo.
That was fast. Didn't it change from Swigs to Fresh only about a year ago?
The last guy I remember being this self-indulgent is Scott Rothstein. Unfortunately he was using other people's money!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Originally Posted by Steve
Maybe it's just a name change. It's a knock off of the Blue Martini...
(LOL....where Scott Rothstein met his ex bartender wife.)
Last edited by belle; 03-06-2010 at 11:13 AM.
"I'd rather see the world through rose colored glasses than be completely blind."
I don't know if it's just a name change or an ownership change. All the signs are still in the process of being changed, so I guess we'll know once they're done, and we see if the "Reality TV" warning signs are still around.Maybe it's just a name change. It's a knock off of the Blue Martini...
(LOL....where Scott Rothstein met his ex bartender wife.)
Either way, it still seems kind of fast. And sudden too, since the article about "The Juggler" TV program also came out just this week, and it prominently features "Fresh" in both the text and the picture. Of course the content would have been prepared for publication earlier, but since it's McDonnell's own magazine, you think he would have known that close to the publication date that he was just about to either rename or sell the place. That way he could either remove mention of Fresh (if he sold it), use the new name, or just hold off publishing that particular article one month to let the dust settle.
.......but since it's McDonnell's own magazine, you think he would have known that close to the publication date that he was just about to either rename or sell the place. That way he could either remove mention of Fresh (if he sold it), use the new name, or just hold off publishing that particular article one month to let the dust settle.
or it could provide an excuse for yet another self indulgent article
ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ
I have to agree with Steve here. I was really uncomfortable with how you guys discredit a man who has done good things for our city, most likely at a loss to him. What's the big deal? I am just glad he is doing it and am glad we don't see a bunch of empty restaurants in our Town center. So he is a wealthy man and love to enjoy his money. What's the big fuss?
"A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support
of Paul."
-.George Bernard Shaw
We were there one night a fw weeks ago and asked if ther was going to be a band. We were told no... they wanted a "lounge" feel now. So this is what they meant.
The name is the only thing that has changed at Fresh.Jamie is still the owner, maybe he changed the name so people would start going there,maybe he changed the name so people would think he sold it.He didnt.
I doubt that... it is too obvious. The new sign colors are exactly the same as FRESH were (maybe even the font style). I think the new name just coincides with the new direction it is supposed to be going in as in becoming a lounge.
It always was a lounge, and it will continue to be so.
I spoke to my cousin about this, who's kind of a "food guy". He says he believes that the only thing that changed was the "brand marketing" (his words). Nothing else changed. It hasn't changed from a dance club to a martini lounge, they will still have bands and dancing, and they've always had a huge martini menu even back when it was Swigs. Even their regular food menu is identical. It's the same place exactly, only the marketing is different. He said the whole thing is a drastic attempt to try to increase business, by changing the marketing image, and only that, from a generic place (with a name like "Fresh") to a Latin place (with a name like "Azul"), obviously to try to exploit our local demographics.
We were at his place for dinner last night when this topic came up, and after dinner he went over to his PC to go to their web site to show me what he meant (all the Fresh web addresses now go to Azul). Sure enough, the site is littered with pictures of Latina ladies with come-hither looks, all of the upcoming bands are Latin or play Latin music, and in fact one of the event pages is entirely in Spanish. But then he took me to their menu page and showed me that it was still the identical menu to what it was 6 months ago. I'll have to take his word for that last part, because I've never to Fresh, and I'm unlikely to go to Azul.
Like I said earlier...it's a knock off of the very successful Blue Martini next to Capital Grille downtown. With the new Argentinian steak house opening up in the Azul neighborhood, sounds like an attempt to spice up the dull life of us suburbanites......or the Latino population.
"I'd rather see the world through rose colored glasses than be completely blind."
There's a two page ad for Malbec Steakhouse in the latest issue of Our City Weston, "Opening Soon". There's a picture of the owners, and it's not Jaimie McDonnell.
One of the upscale-looking pictures shows a pretty awesome looking paella!
Maybe "owners" need to be in parenthesis.There's a two page ad for Malbec Steakhouse in the latest issue of Our City Weston, "Opening Soon". There's a picture of the owners, and it's not Jaimie McDonnell.
One of the upscale-looking pictures shows a pretty awesome looking paella!
Appears to be another Salvatore Greco venture, who is connected to Acquolina's, Stir Fusion, Asian Moon, and Cusano's Italian Bakery. Interesting.
What's Asian Moon? Do you mean Moon Thai? The guy who took over Stir Moon is the the same guy who owns Acquolina? Sounds like Weston has more than one McDonnell-like entrepreneur, except this one is behind the scenes without all the publicity.
On a separate note, I was at the Panthers Game last night, and there was an ad for Fresh (not Azul) that occasionally went by on the thin electronic ad board mid-bowl, complete with their old logo and lips. Don't know if it's McDonnell or the BankAtlantic Center that's fallen behind (surprising in either case, since the ad is electronic), but it's now a waste of marketing money, advertising a place that has otherwise had all remnants of its existence eradicated.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
