Lake Worth Welcomes Oceano
By Darien Davies
After nearly seven delicious years in their cozy location in Lantana, Oceano Kitchen has moved to Lake Worth Beach, thanks to getting rudely 86’d from their landlord.
But instead of getting (or, well, staying) angry, husband and wife duo Jeremy and Cindy Bearman decided to do what they do best, which was to hustle. Just like a busy dinner where they dish out hundreds of covers from their once 40-seat restaurant, it didn’t take them long to figure out a plan and execute it.
“We found out on Aug. 28 that we had until the end of September to vacate the space we had called home for the past seven years. We were notified by an email from the landlord’s attorney,” said Jeremy, who notes that they were already on the lookout for another place. “We never wanted to deal with a landlord again. It was time to buy something of our own.”
Jeremy, who found out the news while he was at home recovering from hip surgery, said it was a huge punch to the gut. Not only did he have his business to worry about, but also his employees and their families, and the fact that season was right around the corner. While he did secure a location on Lucerne Avenue in Lake Worth Beach, now that they had no revenue, the shift was hitting the fan.
But, not for long.
“After getting over the initial shock of having to leave, we quickly transitioned into go mode! We were not planning to move into the new space until after it have been renovated. We hesitated slightly because we really wanted to fix the space up before moving in and create some ‘wow’ moments, but that plan had to change. We knew that the only way we could keep our jobs and the restaurant going for our staff was to move our business into the new space and change gears, but it had to be quickly,” Jeremy said.
They held a final farewell bash on Nov. 3, took a day to rest, and began packing the following day. With the help of movers, the entire team moved into the new space the next day. Then, the doors were officially opened to the public on Nov. 15, a whopping nine days after they moved.
Jeremy was thankful for the City of Lake Worth Beach being so accommodating and helpful during the entire process. On top of having to secure their business license, liquor license, food service license and change of use, they also had to manage the modifications to the space, movers, painters, electricians, plumbers, POS systems, air conditioning, cabling, etc. The good, and exhausting part, of this whole transition is that the team went from working out of a 1,000-square-foot space and to a now having a 3,500 square foot space to work with. That meant doubling their seating.
While there is still a lot to do, including tripling the size of the kitchen, adding a full bar, private dining room, front terrace, garden and patio in the rear of the space, and installing a brand-new pizza oven, the entire team is loving the new location.
“The response to our move and the new space has been more amazing than I could have imagined. It is super busy, the energy is great and very similar to our old spot, the staff love the new space,” Jeremy said.
Lake Worth Beach agrees.
512 Lucerne Ave, Lake Worth Beach
oceanokitchen.com
@oceanokitchen
