“Big Brother” Star Memphis Garrett Opens No Man’s Land in Fort Lauderdale
The 40-seat lounge and restaurant opened on November 3, courtesy of reality star and Fort Lauderdale resident Memphis Garrett.
Prior to No Man’s Land, Garrett, who starred on seasons 10 and 22 of Big Brother, operated the popular Poke House and Blue Wave Sushi in the same 666 N. Federal Hwy. space, under the Garrett Hospitality Group umbrella.
“In my Rolodex of ideas, No Man’s Land has always been a concept that I had tucked away,” Garrett tells New Times. “I’d been waiting for the right time and venue. And it was time to renew that space. So No Man’s Land became that space. It’s a type of place that hadn’t existed yet in Fort Lauderdale and now it’s here.”
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Billed as a sophisticated cocktail den, No Man’s Land looks simultaneously sultry and whimsical. Visual attractions include a gold-curtain entry with a Zoltar fortune-telling machine, plush blue velvet circular seating, marble tables, and a 13-seat bar with an emerald-green backdrop.
Chevy Farrell, known for his work with Sparrow, Glitch Bar, and Hyde Beach, developed the cocktail program, while Austin Blake, also a Sparrow alum, created the menu.
Garrett says early food favorites include the hamachi crudo (Asian pears, avocado, pickled fresno chilies, and cilantro), steak tartare (with truffled duxelles, cornichon, arugula, and blackened potato), and the foie gras “Old Fashioned” (bourbon-cured terrine, Luxardo gastrique, Angostura mascarpone, and toasted brioche).
Small plates start at $6 and run to $26, with cocktails – including a brûlée’d banana-draped “No Man’s Old Fashioned” – hovering around the $15 mark. Despite the borderline swanky vibe, Garrett emphasizes that the spot is made for everyone.
“We want to push the envelope and try new things here, but do it in an approachable manner,” he says. “We’re not trying to make this an unobtainable, super-high-end place, but something that Fort Lauderdale is wanting and ready for.”
Beyond the current opening phase, Garrett envisions impromptu cocktail hours and specials in No Man’s Land’s near future all while maintaining a “refuge from the ordinary” and “you never know what you’re going to get” type of allure.
As for his next local opening, Ya Mas! Taverna – a Mediterranean concept replacing Hollywood Brewing’s Las Olas outpost at 1103 Las Olas Blvd. – will open its doors in the coming weeks. And, good news for Poke House fans, the restaurant will operate as a ghost kitchen out of the No Man’s Land space during daytime hours.
No Man’s Land. 666 N. Federal Hwy., Fort Lauderdale; 954-368-2616; nomanslandftl.com. Open Sunday through Wednesday from 5 p.m. to Midnight and Thursday through Saturday from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m.
