A country cool mash-up of Nashville soul, classic barbecue and Florida cowboy spirit, West Palm Cowboy Club recently opened in downtown West Palm Beach.
This two-level venue opened on March 26 and sits at the corner of Clematis Street and Narcissus Avenue. It is the creation of Brian Swanson, founder of Experience Hospitality, along with several business partners.
“We’re bringing the lively Nashville energy to an area of downtown West Palm Beach that needed something like this — a place where guests can kick back with a beer, BBQ and enjoy live music,” Swanson said.
Featuring two huge hickory smokers, Cowboy Club smokes their brisket, pork shoulder, ribs, turkey and more on site. They offer lunch and dinner and a brunch on the weekends.
“The menu is definitely Nashville Southern barbecue inspired,” Swanson said.
Overseeing those smokers and the entire menu is culinary director chef Adrian Ricouz, who also owns Miami’s Slab Daddy BBQ. Born in Miami and raised in Arkansas, Ricouz blends traditional American barbecue with Latin influence through herbs, spices, and house sauces.
A few smoker highlights include the 18-hour brisket, smoked chicken wings, peach glazed spare ribs and mojo chicken.
West Palm Cowboy Club also features a stone pizza oven that tops out at an impressive 750 degrees and brings their brisket, Buffalo chicken and veggies pizzas to screaming hot, charred perfection.
They also offer handhelds like their Cowboy Club Double Smash Burger, Florida Hot Chicken and much more.
For dessert, don’t miss the deep fried Oreos. Cooked to order, dusted with powdered sugar and served with a side of fresh whipped cream, they are piping hot molten deliciousness.
“We have a lot of different things, but we’re certainly barbecue forward,” Swanson said.
Swanson has been in the hospitality business for 25 years and said he first became interested in doing a country music and cuisine-focused venue about 10 years ago.
In 2017-18, Swanson was living in Ohio, having operated several bars and restaurants in Columbus, when he says he saw country music rise in popularity. “The country radio station was one of the most popular in Columbus.” Despite that, he said there weren’t any country music venues in the area.
Inspired and ready to fill a most scratchable itch, Swanson opened Bristol Republic in Columbus. The restaurant was named after Bristol, Tennessee where the first country music album was recorded. The restaurant featured barbecue classics, an extensive whiskey list, Southern-style brunches on the weekends and live music.
Swanson said he was hoping to expand, but before any plans came to fruition, COVID-19 hit and cut the legs out from just about everything. He said he’d been visiting South Florida for years, but the pandemic nudged him to move to the area. He said he now spends about 75% of the year in West Palm Beach and 25% in Columbus.
Using a concept similar to Bristol, West Palm Cowboy Club features live music from 9 p.m. to midnight on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday and then from midnight until 3 a.m. they have a DJ. Swanson said spin around 60% cool country remixes with some modern house and even a bit of top 40 thrown in.
Weekend brunches get on the country music action as well with live acoustic sets from 1 to 4 p.m.
DJ, producer Diplo a partner at West Palm Cowboy Club
With a focus on music at West Palm Cowboy Club it doesn’t hurt that one of Swanson’s partners happens to be Grammy Award-winning producer and South Florida native Diplo.
In addition to being a business partner, Diplo (aka Thomas Wesley) is also West Palm Cowboy Club’s musical director.
“I grew up and cut my teeth in South Florida, and it inspired so much of who I am. I’m really proud to bring this energy home, and show some love to the SoFlo Cowboy,” said Wesley.
Happy hour is 3 to 6 p.m. Tuesday to Friday and 3 to 7 p.m. Tuesday to Friday at the bar. Some great deals include $5 glasses of wine and draft beers and half off whiskey along with $12 pizzas and all shareables for $10.
New venue worked with West Palm Beach DDA
With a business incentive grant from the West Palm Beach Downtown Development Authority West Palm Cowboy Club was able upgrade the location.
DDA Executive Director Teneka James-Feaman said “We provided them with a business incentive grant that assisted with some of the build out and infrastructure improvements that they need in the space.”
The grant can be used only for physical improvements to the location including electrical, plumbing and HVAC and it is structured so that the work is contracted, completed and passes inspection before the applicant is reimbursed.
West Palm Beach Cowboy Club
Where: 200 Clematis St., West Palm Beach
Hours: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday to Wednesday; 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Thursday; 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 3 a.m. Saturday; 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday
Information: westpalmcowboyclub.com
Eddie Ritz is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at eritz@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: New West Palm restaurant brings country-leaning music, menu, vibe
Reporting by Eddie Ritz, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
