Where Everyone is Celebrated—Just Don’t be Wicked!
Somewhere over the rainbow, in downtown Pensacola, a new bar and eatery has opened where everyone is welcome and celebrated, as long as you’re not wicked!
Officially open as of October 22, Dorothy’s brings something truly unique to the downtown area—and with a fun theatrical twist.
Follow the hand-painted yellow brick road not only to the center of the dance floor but also toward made-from-scratch Portuguese-Southern fare, enchanting elixirs fit for the greatest and most terrible witches and wizards and a plethora of references to the world of the wonderful Wizard of Oz.
Dorothy’s was dreamt into existence by OASIS Florida Executive Director Kurt Goodman, General Manager Benjamin Haupt and Steel Pony Diner CoOwners Eric Michael and Kyree Whitehead. The bar and restaurant boasts colorful Wizard of Oz-themed decor, craft cocktails, quality food and offers a new clubbing destination that is designed to celebrate everyone.
However, Dorothy’s is more than an exciting new nightlife experience, it’s a fundraising lifeline for OASIS Florida, a nonprofit dedicated to the prevention and spread of HIV and to support those who are affected by HIV/AIDS.
The for-profit bar and restaurant is a subsidiary of OASIS, and all the profits are spent toward funding the non-profit’s public health programs. OASIS provides everything from housing to food bank assistance for all four counties of Northwest Florida. Any service that a person living with HIV needs can be found through OASIS.
Dorothy’s slogan, “Where everyone is celebrated—just don’t be wicked,” effectively summarizes the overall mission. This inclusive restaurant and bar atmosphere was established as a creative way to help offset budget cuts for OASIS, which is expected to lose $1.6 million in funding due to state and federal budget cuts.
“The real goal is to make sure that no programs are being cut because of federal and state funding cuts,” Haupt said. “Anything in addition to that means more programs and more help going toward people who need it. Right now, OASIS is losing about $300,000 in state and federal funding, so we want to donate $300,000 by the end of the year, every year.”
Steel Pony Diner Co-Owners Eric Michael and Kyree Whitehead have partnered with Dorothy’s as the resident restaurateurs, specializing in Portuguese dishes combined with Southern classics.
“Eric Michael is the head chef and co-owns the restaurant with his husband [Whitehead],” Haupt explained. “He creates a combination of flavors from where he’s from—Fall River, Mass. and Portugal, where his family is from. His grandma cooked a lot of Portuguese food for him growing up, so that’s the flavor profile that they have brought to the bar world.”
Steel Pony will continue dishing up their crowd-favorite dishes at Dorothy’s while also curating a menu specifically with Dorothy’s in mind—bar foods, burgers, biscuits and gravy, loaded fries, sandwiches and more homemade, hand-battered, never frozen good eats—which they serve late into the night. Eventually, Dorothy’s and Steel Pony would like to bring more 24-hour sit-in dining options back to Pensacola.
All Steel Pony dishes are made with pristine detail and precision, such as their Prego Steak Sandwich with Portuguese soup, Reuben hot dog and even many vegan and gluten-free options for a different take on late-night bar food.
Dorothy’s also serves themed craft cocktails and offers a curated assortment of Portuguese wines. Bar-goers can try multiple Ozian elixirs such as the Judy Garland, a floral old-fashioned named after the famous Hollywood actress who played Miss Dorothy herself. Also on the menu is the crowd-favorite Curse of the Poppies, which is best described as a spicy hibiscus margarita, as well as Haupt’s personal favorite Oz’s Lilly, which is a twist on an aviation—made with black cherry, violet, lemon and gin.
“I wanted sophisticated, nice craft cocktails,” Haupt said. “But, I didn’t want anything too crazy that people didn’t know what it was. I want to make sure that everyone can feel like they can get a cocktail off the menu with the price point to match.”
In addition to curating Dorothy’s craft cocktail menu, Haupt went to work on projects around the restaurant, including painting the iconic yellow brick road that also doubles as a dance floor later into the evening hours.
Local artist Daniel Andreu, was commissioned to paint the larger than life murals that adorn the inside walls of Dorothy’s.
“We told [Andreu] that the restaurant was Wizard of Oz-themed, and he came in with his drawings and renderings, and we ultimately chose him to do the artwork because of his fantastic realism work,” Haupt said. “My goal for everything when it comes to the bar is that everything should be sophisticated and whimsical, which seems like they could be antonyms, but together I want the space to feel whimsically sophisticated because that perfectly encapsulates what the Wizard of Oz is.”
Andreu depicts the key faces of the Wizard of Oz characters, including the bar’s namesake. Dorothy’s visitors will find these murals illuminated under black lights, offering an extra special effect after the lights go down, as it highlights the outline of the faces.
While there are many Blue Angels murals throughout Pensacola, Dorothy’s houses an extra special one that is unlike any other—a portrayal of the Wicked Witch of the West chasing after the jets on her broomstick.
Located at 309 S. Reus St., Dorothy’s is in a prime part of downtown Pensacola, right across from the Blue Wahoos Stadium and Pensacola City Hall. Dorothy’s is contributing more energy to the overall downtown area, receiving unwavering support from the local community since its grand opening on Halloween.
As the bar gains more footing, Haupt hopes to open for trivia nights, karaoke, special events and rentals.
Dorothy’s is currently open Sunday through Thursday from 3 pm to midnight and on Friday from 3 pm to 2 am. For more information about Dorothy’s, check out their Facebook @Dorothy’s and Instagram @dorothyspensacola.