To quote Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz, “People come and go so quickly here.” I’ve been a resident of Wilton Manors/Fort Lauderdale for 14 years, and even in that short time, I’ve seen numerous places come and go from Wilton Drive, sometimes in the space of less than a year, and that kind of change brings three new businesses to the Drive.
Jazzberry Creamery
2301 Wilton Dr.
954-395-1134
jazzberrycreamery.com
When Wilton Creamery closed at the end of the year, Frank Spadea, a fan of Wilton Creamery, decided to open another ice cream shop. The ex-owner of Dudes Barber jumped in and signed a lease on the space as a second outpost for his Imperial Point ice cream shop, Jazzberry Scoops, which opened in 2024. As a tribute to his predecessor, he kept Creamery in the name and opened Jazzberry Creamery on Feb. 5.
Upgrades include new freezer cases and digital menu boards. The odd loft space will be utilized as a DJ booth with some lounge seating. The menu features 52 ice cream flavors, plus shakes, sundaes, and splits with a choice of toppings. The flavors are a mix of classics and more exotic concoctions such as Bear Claw, Butterscotch Bomb, Calypso Crunch, Eyes Wide Open, Garbage Can (with chunks of seven different candy bars in vanilla ice cream), and Mac Daddy Coconut.
Many options are gluten free, dairy-free, and vegetarian or vegan. For a scoop, in a cone or cup, the fun size is $6.95 for a snack size scoop, a single regular-sized scoop (which you can mix with two flavors of ice cream) will run you $7.95, two scoops $8.95, and a triple is $11.99.
The Bean Espresso Bar
2151 Wilton Dr.
Beanbar.com
Bean Espresso Bar is preparing to open at 2151 Wilton Dr., and, in fact, may be open by the time you read this. Owner Nadia Cutillo in addition to coffee, will serve pistachio croissants and cannoli. Pistachio will also appear in select flavor options for beverages as well. The café will serve an Italian coffee brand sourced from Napoli, reinforcing the traditional focus of the concept.
Proof
2045 Wilton Dr.
561-565-2962
Proofwiltonmanors.com
Proof’s theme is “Shared Plates, Shared Moments,” and its website describes it as “a modern neighborhood eatery serving elevated shared plates and cocktails in the heart of Wilton Manors. No pretense. Just flavor. Local ingredients. Craft cocktails. A place to gather.” And indeed, most of its menu is centered around food to share. Be prepared to order a few dishes. This is not one of those places that overloads a plate with food. The portions are small, even those listed as individual dishes are not enough to fill you up, unless you’ve shared some appetizers beforehand, which, after all, is how the menu was designed.
Mini Macs are slider-sized smash burgers, Drunkin' Drummies offers up drumsticks glazed in bourbon–maple BBQ sauce. New Money is caviar service with truffle crème fraiche, and crisp kettle chips. Oughta Try It, is fresh burrata with heirloom tomatoes, basil pesto, and fig balsamic. Other snackables include truffle fries, coconut shrimp with a Moroccan sweet and spicy sauce, flash-fried green beans, roasted bone marrow, tempura-fried Maitake mushrooms, Moroccan roasted cauliflower, over a bed of red pepper hummus, and a chef's charcuterie board. The choices continue with classic spinach artichoke dip, escargot with both the classic version, and a vegan version, which substitutes mushrooms for the snails and uses vegan butter.
Individual-sized portions include a dumpling pot pie, served in a ramekin, and topped with puff pastry, a shrimp cocktail with gochujang cocktail sauce, a basil Caesar salad, and PEI pan-roasted mussels in curry sauce with sautéed onions, served with toasted naan.
A weekend brunch is also served. Brunch cocktails include Bloody Mary, Mac Daddy Mary, Mimosa, or bottomless Mimosa, Bellini, and Aperol Spritz.
Addendum: Proof heard from its diners and, as we went to press, announced larger servings of some of its dishes. It’s like they read our column before it was out!
