Sports bars and restaurants gear up as Miami Heat, Marlins open playoff series today

Mask up, South Florida, it’s time to vanquish a new (old) enemy: LeBron James.

Against the backdrop of COVID-19, sports fans are expected to pack socially distanced South Florida bars and restaurants on Wednesday to watch the against-all-odds Miami Heat face LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2020 NBA Finals.

The series opener against the former Heat star, nationally televised on ABC, begins at 9 p.m.

Earlier in the day, fellow underdogs the Miami Marlins will make their return to the MLB playoffs for the first time since 2003 in a 2 p.m. game against the Chicago Cubs. It also will be shown on ABC.

Despite Gov. Ron DeSantis’ recent Phase 3 order eliminating state COVID-19 mandates, masks and social distancing limits remain the rule at most South Florida restaurants and bars.

Staff at those businesses report a noticeable uptick in enthusiasm among guests — and not just because local sports teams are doing well.

“People are just happy to be out for some reason. Not just to go out. Football, the Heat, baseball. It’s just a great time for something else to do,” says general manager Christian Rodriguez at the Yard House at Gulfstream Park Village in Hallandale Beach.

The Yard House will show the Heat and Marlins on 38 TVs and will offer half-off select bottles and glasses of wine on Wednesday.

Rodriguez says the Yard House will continue to require masks and distribute guests around the dining room at tables of six or fewer to allow for 6 feet of social distancing. He says guests have become accustomed to these rules.

“We all see on social media those crazy videos of people fighting for not wearing their masks. We’ve had nothing of the sort,” he says. “It seems like everyone in this area, I guess, just wants to do the right thing.”

Duffy’s Sports Grill in Delray Beach has expanded its patio and opened a private room to allow for more social distancing. Palm Beach County officials on Tuesday announced restaurants could operate at 100% capacity.

“We appreciate everyone who chooses to come in during such a difficult time for the restaurant industry,” says Cynthia Langford, general manager of the Delray Beach location.

“This year has been interesting in many ways, sports included. It’s not often that you have so many major sporting events happening at the same time. The great thing about it is that there’s something for everyone and allows our guests the opportunity to forget about their stress for the moments that they’re enjoying their games,” Langford says.

At Shuck N’ Dive in Fort Lauderdale, the Heat will get the royale treatment, with viewing on three jumbo screens with surround-sound in the large back room, usually reserved for owner Danny Stasi’s beloved LSU Tigers and New Orleans Saints.

Stasi says chatter about the Heat has increased “500 percent” during the team’s recent series with the Boston Celtics. He hasn’t heard much talk about the Marlins, but plans to make sure those games are on for people who request it.

Shuck will have 2,500 oysters on hand for $1 oyster night, and Stasi says he will violate his personal 11 p.m. curfew for the restaurant and stay open as long as fans are there to watch the 9 p.m. game.

Stasi expects a late night.

“Boy, does everybody want to see them take it to LeBron,” he says laughing.

Shuck will continue to take a hard line on COVID-19 restrictions, something that has helped compliance, Stasi says.

“We’ve been really strict. If you let a bunch of people in that are breaking the rules, yeah, you get busy, but all the people that are following them leave and don’t come back. You just kind of trade good people for bad people,” Stasi says.

At Waxy’s Irish Pub in Fort Lauderdale, where Premier League and Liverpool are king, owner Mark Rohleder says the Heat are a popular draw. It won’t hurt that Wednesday also features a $10 burger special with fries and a 16-ounce beer.

“We’ve been getting people in for the Heat games. People are coming out, you know?” Rohleder says, crediting the mask and distancing rules he’s enforced. “I think we’ve gotten support because we’ve been pretty stringent in what we’ve been doing. Screw the mandate, you’ve got to wear a mask to come into Waxy’s.”

A fan since the Heat’s first NBA championship in 2006, Seth Miller, 38, of Boynton Beach, plans to be at Bru’s Room in Delray Beach early for a wings dinner and stay for the game. He intends to watch every minute of every game in the series.

“We might never get another chance to see the Heat beat LeBron in the Finals. Unless they do it next year, too!” he says, laughing.

Located near the Heat’s home at AmericanAirlines Arena in downtown Miami, Black Market is a sports bar — with more than two-dozen TVs and a DJ — that shares the attitude of a nightclub, says general manager Erick Passo,

All of the tables in the 14,000-square-foot bar are sold out for Wednesday night’s watch party, and Game 2 is halfway there. There are two tables remaining Wednesday in the VIP area, which has a two-bottle minimum (starting at $150 per bottle).

“We would love to have the place upside down, over capacity, but due to the facts that we’re in, we’re going to continue to have [groups] 6 feet apart, with masks and operate at 50-percent capacity,” Passo says.

Along with its regular menu of burgers and wings, Black Market will have more than 1,000 croquetas from the iconic Islas Canarias restaurant.

During the playoffs, the bar also will put a special price on a cocktail inspired by Heat star Jimmy Butler’s love of coffee, which has gained fame during the team’s playoff bubble lockdown. Featuring Havana Club Añejo Clásico rum and coffee, Butler’s Barista Brew costs $10.