Bottoms Up: Famous Dive Bar Has New Life
Tobacco Road Is Back
Good news for those who are nostalgic for Tobacco Road, Miami’s oldest pub with a liquor license dating back to to pre-Prohibition times. That iconic watering hole shuttered in 2014 after 102 years. But now there’s the new Tobacco Road by Kush. It’s half pop-up, half salute to the original hangout and 100% dive bar chic in downtown Miami’s Brickell area.
Tobacco Road’s new iteration is brought to you by Matt “Kush” Kuscher of Kush Hospitality Group, one of the Magic City’s foremost proctors of pop culture. “Anyone who knows me knows that I love Miami and work very hard to represent the best this city has to offer,” Kuscher says in a press release. “So, when Patrick (Gleber, one of Tobacco Road’s original owners) contacted me about collaborating on a ‘tribute album’ of sorts it was a no-brainer.”
Kush’s Tobacco Road, designed by Kuscher himself, offers a bounty of pop culture references — from a wall with the iconic venue’s vintage gig posters from the1980s to Old Miami memorabilia. A temporary stage in the dining room pays homage to Tobacco Road as an essential element of Miami’s music history.
The menu includes everything from wings, New Mexican chili and barbecue chicken nachos to bang bang shrimp, salads, burgers and Key lime pie. Beers are broken down into three categories: Draft, Craft and Shitty. The last category is made up of Miller High Life, Coors Banquet, Mickey’s, Yuengling and Old Milwaukee with a $1 upcharge to turn any shitty beer into Mexican ashtray (12 oz. Tecate with salted rim, topped with lime juice, hot sauce and black pepper).
Cocktails are powerfully made and creatively named. Example: Pinga Colada — Havana Club rum and Coco Lopez with a provocative garnish.
Tobacco Road, at 650 South Miami Ave., is open for lunch, dinner and take-out and seats 95, with outdoor seating and a 30-person private dining room that Kush plans to use as a speakeasy.
Visit kushhospitality.com.