Booze Hound: BYOB at Wynwood Social Club

Elyse Wanshel

Relax! You aren't going to get in trouble.

Attention flask fanatics and supporters of small, brown, you-don't-need-to-know-my-business paper bags; there's a new BYOB in MIA. The Wynwood Social Club (2501 N.W. 2nd Ave., Miami, across the street from Joey's) doesn't serve the sauce but delves out mixers that range from tonic, sparkling water, soda, and Snapples for free after you pay a $10 entrance fee every Saturday from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Yup. 10 bucks and you can drink $10,000,000,000-worth of booze just so long as you supply it.

Originally, I heard that this fairly large space used to store industrial fans, but in actuality it served as a showroom for a company that sold furniture to hotels and restaurants in South America and the Caribbean. Sure, it's slightly less romantic, but the Wynwood Social Club makes up for it with quixotic, dim, amber lighting. The spot is adorned with tin lunch boxes, kitschy chairs-galore (we're talking schoolhouse desk/chair hybrids and one that looks like it sent via a time-machine from a barber's shop in the '70s) and a small stage that serves as a platform for local bands like last Saturday's Transitional Blues Band or tomorrow's Afro-Cuban amalgam jammers, Oriente.

Elyse Wanshel

"We're trying to establish a place for artists and the creative people in this neighborhood to meet and discuss and brainstorm together," says David Lombardi, the owner of the venue. "Thus the chess and backgammon sets."

And do they plan to open the club on nights other than Saturdays?

"We're available for private parties and maybe karaoke on Fridays."

Elyse Wanshel

Can you still call them a bartender if they don't serve you booze?

Last Call: The vibe is right and it's a great start out point for a night of partying Downtown, especially after a dinner at Joey's. It could potentially be an awesome place, but my one suggestion is to lower the price by $5. Or if they want to keep the same entrance fee, offer a few more mixers. Or perhaps run with the desired theme of the place and provide ingredients for slightly more complicated or creative cocktails rather than the basics.

Another concern: Are people actually going to pay to get into the Wynwood Social Club on a Saturday gallery night when they can get drinks plus art for the bargain price of $0? I'm not sure, but let's see how these innovative-types "brainstorm together" and combat this particular obstacle.