IN RETROSPECT
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ROAD DIARIES
Miami's oldest bar was reborn in 2021 with new management, but its infamous legacy
as a place to let loose next to gangsters, rockers and local barflies alike lives on.
BY JENNY STARR PEREZ
LONGTIME MIAMI NATIVES mourned when Tobacco Road – the
Magic City's oldest bar with a liquor license dating back to pre-
Prohibition – closed its doors in the fall of 2014. In a city synonymous
with reinvention and flashy high-profile projects, the Road was a
holdover from a bygone era of bootleggers and gangsters, bargoers
and brawlers. And though Tobacco Road's glory days are gone, a new
chapter is being written and, not surprisingly, the leadership behind
the new concet is one of Miami's foremost purveyors of pop culture,
Matt Kuscher of Kush Hospitality Group.
Reopened in March 2021 in downtown Miami's Brickell area,
Kush's tribute to Tobacco Road – 50% pop up, 50% homage and 100%
dive bar chic. The slogan is simple, "This ain't the real Tobacco Road."
The goal here was not to recreate the original Tobacco Road, surely
you can't replicate something with so much history. Though the spirit
of the iconic watering hole is completely intact – a spot people can
come to eat, drink, reminisce and indulge in a little nostalgia – and
have some fun in the process. Available for lunch, dinner and delivery
daily, the menu at Tobacco Road by Kush reads like a "greatest
hits'' compilation of American bar food, with just the right amount of
elevation and a bite of history. kushhospitality.com.
A new chapter for iconic Miami bar, Tobacco Road.
160 venicemagftl.com Spring 2023
