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Snag a seat on Rosie’s lanai to try the famous Big Girl Burger and other punny dishes like Quinoa Tifah and Kaling Me Softly, or go for tacos and tequila at Tulio’s. There’s a lot that awaits further down (and just off) The Drive. Return for a rowdy night starting with a bite and brew at Wilton Manors’ original gay bar Alibi & Monkey Bar, then mozy across the plaza to take on the dance floor at Hunters. The one-stop Shoppes is perhaps the world’s gayest strip mall, hosting 40 or so of the town’s most cherished establishments across its canary-colored buildings, most of them LGBTQ+ owned and operated.įuel up at community-driven coffee joint Java Boys in the morning, then gorge on sashimi at Tee Jay Thai Sushi for lunch. When in doubt, just pull up to the Shoppes of Wilton Manors. The best things to do on a weekend in Wilton Manors
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“Here in Wilton Manors, there is just about something for everybody.” The lush outdoor patio at Rosie's, a Wilton Drive staple | Photo courtesy of Visit Lauderdale “You can find a leather bar, a male dancer bar, a bar that caters to the trans community, a drag bar, a cabaret bar…you get the picture,” adds Hunter.
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The brilliance of nightlife in Wilton Manors is that, despite its small size, no person is excluded from the fun, with spots along The Drive catering to all queer identities, preferences, and fetishes. “Almost all of the businesses do charity work as well, and that enriches the lives of our close-knit LGBTQ+ community.” “Most of the bars work well with each other,” says Hunter. The now-iconic dance club concept is one of the towns’ most popular after-dark haunts. “We immediately felt welcomed to The Drive by the other businesses,” says nightclub owner Mark Hunter, who opened the third outpost of Hunters here in 2013. Spanning five blocks, a sense of camaraderie unites the LGTBQ+ owned businesses here. The beating heart of the Wilton Manors universe is undoubtedly Wilton Drive. LGBTQ+ pride is baked into the fabric of everyday life | Wilton Manors Stonewall Pride Parade & Street Festival Page And this year, with the theme “Out of the Darkness and Into the Light,” Wilton Manors is gearing up for a buoyant “coming out” from the pandemic party on June 19th, with six concert stages and a kaleidoscopic Pride march down The Drive. The streets become an open-air dance floor during one of Florida’s most vibrant Pride celebrations, drawing up to 30,000 attendees each year. The open-minded burg strives to retain its small-town charm, appealing to families and other groups seeking respite from South Florida’s overbuilt beach resorts.īut if there’s one time of year that guarantees nonstop debauchery, it’s the annual Stonewall Parade & Street Festival in June. While Wilton Manors certainly has its fair share of rowdy bars and multi-level nightclubs, for the most part, Island City eschews the over-the-top flashiness that characterizes neighboring LGBTQ+ bastions like South Beach. You can support those businesses by going thrifting, grabbing a coffee, shooting some pool, even getting your eyes examined here, queerness is baked into the fabric of everyday life. Today, “The Drive” boasts an extraordinarily dense roster of over 40 independent LGBTQ+ owned businesses, from sushi shops to retro candy stores and even a bakery opened by one of Wilton Manors’ gay ex-mayors.
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Wilton Manors has flourished as a hub for queer entrepreneurship anchored by its main drag, Wilton Drive. A decade later, Wilton Manors became the first municipality in Florida (and the second nationwide after Palm Springs) to elect an all-LGBTQ city commission. Nicknamed “Island City” (it’s surrounded by canals on all sides), Wilton Manors has been an LGBTQ+ stronghold for decades back in 1988, its denizens elected the very first openly gay official serving in Broward County. Home to about 13,000 residents, this gayborhood resets the bar for inclusivity. Drive forty minutes north of Miami, and just outside Fort Lauderdale you’ll encounter the ultra-progressive, culture-packed town of Wilton Manors-a tight-knit community driven by its unabashed embrace of all expressions of queerness. There’s a tiny town in South Florida that might be the most LGBTQ+ friendly place in America.