Downtown Orlando was actually crowded last night as venues begin to reopen with restaurant licenses. One such “club” is The Lodge.It ain’t what it used to be though as rules are strictly enforced. No standing around; there had to be a seat available and you had to sit in it. No DJ and no dancing. The new menu included pizza and wings and the food I saw was not an afterthought; the stuff looked good!And the dead animals on the wall still made you think you were in an old hunting lodge.With a restaurant down on the ground floor, The Robinson up above it was able to reopen some time ago.Like The Lodge, the doorman could only bring you up if seats were available. There were spots available when we arrived but the line can grow long if you arrive close to midnight. No DJ or dancing but light House music in the background.The gin & tonics are good!We passed through Wall Street Plaza to confirm they were still closed. This view of Waitiki and Monkey Bar above it confirms it’s true. This is a real downtown travesty since the owners could clearly install a small kitchen somewhere and get many of the clubs reopened and back in business!In the past we complained about all the homeless camped out up against the building behind these planters and Wall Street management not doing anything about it. That has been rectified with these barriers added to eliminate the hidden nooks. Thank you Wall Street!The Basement was open again yesterday with a long line. There also appeared to be movement in the windows above it so perhaps The Attic has reopened too. We will check that out in the near future. The liquor license suspension for Shots Orlando (not pictured) must have been worked out as they were open too.Bullitt Bar on the ground floor and McQueen’s above it have reopened. We will check them out in the near future too.Bar owners are quickly figuring out that they’re not reopening anytime soon unless they also get a restaurant license. As we previously reported, The Social is getting a kitchen installed which will allow not only them to reopen but also the connected venues under the same ownership which include 64 North, Aero Bar, Jungle Room and The Patio. We’re not sure about The Beacham itself. As you can see, they plan to reopen next month.Elixir Bar long-ago took advantage of their status as a restaurant to reopen and it’s become one of the few places downtown offering DJ entertainment.We found DJ Grape La Flame (USA) on the boards playing a Top 40 mix with resident DJ K1K0 (USA) supervising.But like everyone else downtown last night, there had to be seats available before they would bring you in. That made it far less crowded than what we’ve experienced in the past.Not sure if this is a permanent change or not.The music was less House and more Latin & Top 40 than in the past too. But still, a good time was had by all.
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