Democratic Republic of Beer's Second Location Soft Opening Weekend (Photos)

All photos by David Minsky

Democratic Republic of Beer, Miami's late night beer and wine local featuring over 500 beers from around the world, opened its second location in three years in downtown on Friday night.

Business was slow at first but intensified by 8 p.m., nearly reaching maximum occupancy by midnight. Saturday and Sunday turned out to be a bit slower , but that will soon change as the basketball and football seasons progress.

Any Miami midnight marauder who creeped into the original DRB location on a regular basis will be pleased to know that the second place is better, much better.

For starters, it is at least twice as big as the first, 1600 square feet versus roughly 800. This means more room to kick back.

Two: they have a covered outdoor seating area, although it has only one table. This is better than the last place, which has no covered outdoor lounge save for a couch outside the door. With the addition of more tables on the patio, the seating space could equal to more than 3000 square feet, according to DRB Manager Giorgio Saumat.

Tres: free parking for guests. That's right. No longer will you have to struggle through the concrete jungle to park your prized possession, not knowing whether you'll receive any one of several punishments for disobeying the parking space god: a ticket, tow or smashed window. It's probably the best gift to DRB guests besides the huge selection of beers. There are at least 44 spaces with a parking attendant to watch over the lot.