South Florida Sun Sentinel
Jan 11, 2022 3:21 PM
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An architectural rendering of the new Moxies, a Canadian restaurant chain coming to Fort Lauderdale’s Las Olas Boulevard this fall. (Stiles / Courtesy)
Fort Lauderdale, what with all the high-rises screaming up the downtown skyline, already has plenty of moxie. Now it’s gaining even more: Moxies, a popular Canadian restaurant chain, is shuffling onto Las Olas Boulevard.
The Calgary export that serves American and global cuisine will debut this fall inside one of those high-rises, the 25-story Main Las Olas, at 201 E. Las Olas. The restaurant will sit cattycorner from Eddie V’s Prime Seafood, around the corner from Publix Greenwise Market.
At 12,000 square feet, Moxies will occupy two stories at the Main, with indoor-outdoor bars on both floors, and a second-floor mezzanine adorned in elegant white crossbeams, faux-grass walls, marble-topped tables and indoor palm trees.
In this rendering, the 12,000-square-foot Moxies restaurant will feature indoor/outdoor bars on two floors, both decorated with elegant white crossbeams, faux-grass walls and marble-topped tables. (Stiles / Courtesy)
“Our entire team is excited to host everyone who lives, works in and visits this dynamic and stylish neighborhood when our doors open,” says Paul Randle, president of Eatz Hospitality, a Canadian restaurant group franchising this location.
Fort Lauderdale marks the restaurant’s second Florida location and fifth in the U.S., after Tom Gaglardi, owner of the Dallas Stars hockey team, helped bring the chain to Texas in 2014. Randle’s Eatz Hospitality brought the first Florida Moxies to Miami’s Mary Brickell Village in February 2020, just before the pandemic, and has largely been responsible for Moxies’ U.S. growth.
As for dining, Moxies wears its country’s allegiances proud with a classic – poutine – the lone Canadian dish on its menu. Everything else about the restaurant leans “globally inspired” or American, even its name, which is derived from America’s oldest soft drink and in common usage means “bold determination” or “nerve.”
Moxies’ menu also serves an assortment of salads, soups, hamburgers and N.Y. strip steaks, along with sushi cones and a one-pound serving of nachos. Entrees at Moxies range from steak frites and baby back ribs to miso ramen bowls and beef vindaloo served with sauteed veggies, jasmine rice and buttered naan.
Moxies’ drink menu feels just as extensive, with 21 cocktails and spanning old fashioneds to Moscow mules, eight variations of margaritas, six specialty shots, more than 60 red and white wines, and a heavy selection of draft and bottled craft beers. The restaurant’s 3-6 p.m. weekday happy hour will offer $5 wines, $8 cocktails and $6-$8 light bites.
Moxies, at 201 E. Las Olas, will open this fall at the Main Las Olas. Go to US.Moxies.com.
Moxies, shown in this rendering, will open inside the Main Las Olas high-rise on Las Olas Boulevard later this fall. (Stiles / Courtesy)
