Boynton Beach bar is packing up 30 years of memories – and moving them across the street.
By Maria Paula Gonzales
For the past 30 years, Hurricane Alley has stayed right where it started, serving Boynton Beach locals good drinks, great food, and an even better time. But after September 25th, Owner Kim Kelly will be packing up every photo, fish, and surfboard on their walls – for now.
We last talked to Kim in 2022, when she was told developers were building her a whole new space a few doors down from their current location. After Kim had started a petition – which gained over 4,000 signatures – to stop a $60 million development in Hurricane Alley’s backyard, the city halted the plans.
In the year that followed, five other developers presented the board with plans, and ultimately Jeff Burns and Nick Roja from the Affiliated Development team from Fort Lauderdale were selected. Then, things came to a slow crawl.
Kim told us they have just been waiting for the development to begin. “Things got delayed,” she said. Through discussing, making plans, and rolling with the punches, Kim didn’t know what the future held for Hurricane Alley. “We thought that we were still moving over to the corner of Northeast Fourth Street and Boynton Beach Boulevard,” Kim said.
Movin’ Out
August 25th, 2026, Kim received an email from her landlord, Affiliated Development, that Hurricane Alley had 30 days to vacate.
Kim said it felt sudden. “We thought we would be given more notice. Maybe three or four months so we could plan accordingly.”
The building Hurricane Alley currently occupies is slated for demolition to build The Pierce, a mixed-use project by Affiliated Development planned for 115 N. Federal Hwy. The eight-story development will include at least 236 apartments, half designated as workforce housing, along with 16,800 square feet of restaurant and commercial space and a 150-space parking garage.
But not all is dim as it may seem. Hurricane Alley will be reopening in a few months just across the street.
A New Home
Rather than wait for development to finish and move into new construction, Kim will be taking over the space across the street that was home to Paloma Restaurant at 510 E. Ocean Ave., Boynton Beach.
“The owner of Paloma, Carlos Alvarez, and I came to an agreement where I would take over his existing restaurant and allow our iconic Hurricane Alley to have a new home,” Kim wrote in a Facebook post. “Carlos is an angel sent from heaven, and it was the perfect timing for both of us. Between his team and mine, we were able to secure a deal quickly.”
The process has been long-winded and difficult at times, but Kim says they’re making the best of the situation. “We’re trying to get some employees temporary jobs and trying to work them as much as we can until the end,” Kim said with hope.
The Community
Owning a restaurant for 30 years means creating long-lasting relationships with as many people as possible. The more you pour into your community, the more they will stay loyal to you through thick and thin, and the response from the Boynton Beach community has proved it.
“We encourage everybody to come down while we’re still here,” Kim shared enthusiastically. “As far as business goes, it’s the same as it’s always been and hopefully our downtime’s only going to be a few months, then we’ll be right back up doing the same thing that we’ve been doing for the last thirty years.”
Walk in at peak lunch hour on a rainy afternoon, and you wouldn’t think the restaurant was closing at all. Tables were occupied, bar stools almost all taken. Boynton Beach locals picking up to-go orders and finding out the news about closing as Kim worked the place like she’s done every day.
“This is just a pause. Think of it like we went on vacation,” Kim said. With it being slow season, Kim says it’s not a bad time to close, and she’s confident they’ll be open again for the holiday season.
“We always wanted to stay on East Ocean Avenue. The only reason that we picked the corner spot was because we were under the assumption that that would be built first. I had to make a decision about what was best for my business, for my employees, and the community. The best thing for me was just to stay on East Ocean Avenue,” Kim said.
And here, the community impact runs deep: The majority of the decor for Hurricane Alley was gifted by their own customers. Kim calls that type of gift “empowering.”
If you’ve donated any decor, don’t fret. Everything is being moved over to the new location across the street to keep the Hurricane Alley personality.
“I’ve had people call and ask me, ‘Hey, is my stuff gonna move over?’ And I say, ‘Absolutely’,” Kim said.
The Sendoff Party
Event Details:
Friday September 25th, 3-10pm
Hurricane Alley Sendoff Party
Music by Jerry “Screeman” Leeman and John Boes with STRYDER, performing from 3–9 PM.
529 E. Ocean Ave., Boynton Beach
Hurricane Alley will be throwing a party from 3-10pm on Friday, September 25th, for its last day in the original space. From 3-9pm, enjoy music from bands like Screamin’ Jerry Leeman and John Boes with Stryder, who were some of the first to play at Hurricane Alley when it opened in 1996.
It’s bittersweet, but Kim is hopeful for what’s to come, and wants you to bring the party: It’s not over ‘til it’s over.
529 E. Ocean Ave., Boynton Beach, FL 33435 (soon to be 510 E. Ocean Ave., Boynton Beach, FL 33435)
