Going out on a Thursday for lunch, dinner, drinks, and a night at a club is a pretty established routine for many around Wilton Manors. On April 11, a routine day out becomes extra meaningful.

Dining Out For Life (DOFL) is an annual fundraiser for Broward House. Area restaurants donate a portion of sales to the organization, which serves people fighting chronic illness, including HIV.

“We have the most venues that we’ve had in a really long time,” Broward House’s Jana Jaffe said. Their website lists dozens of participating places. Many are located in and around Wilton Manors, but support reaches beyond the gayborhood. Legends Tavern & Grille in Pompano Beach is a member as well.

There is no “one-size-fits-all” to DOFL. Each restaurant and bar does what it feels it can afford and will be beneficial to Broward House. For instance, Apt. 9F is donating 50% of its proceeds, much of which comes from food sales.

Hunters Nightclub, which doesn’t serve food, is donating proceeds from drink sales, while Eagle is contributing cover from the door.

“All the restaurants are being so generous and donating part of the revenue for the day,” Broward House CEO Nicole Burrell said. This will be her first DOFL, but she understands how it works. “I’m a sports mom! We’re used to hitting all these restaurants to get donations for sports teams. It’s an awesome thing, and we can’t thank them enough.”

This year’s event carries extra importance. In 2023, the night before DOFL was set to happen, Fort Lauderdale was hit by the “once-in-a-thousand-years” flood. While the event wasn’t technically canceled, many if not most of the restaurants were flooded and inoperable.

Broward House was scrambling to assist its clients and save what they could from their facilities, which would eventually need to be gutted and renovated.

While Broward House never skipped a beat serving its clients, the flood took a financial toll, one that they will be paying off for a while.

Burrell is thinking sunny thoughts for this year’s event. “I’m excited and looking forward to it. I’m praying for no rain that day. I’m not even saying flood. No rain. Blue skies only.”