Illustrative image; this is not a photograph of the fire or the affected businesses.
Backyard has been declared a total loss, and its owners say they intend to return. The neighboring business affected by Monday’s fire in Fort Lauderdale’s Himmarshee district has also been identified: Poorhouse, also known as Poorhouse Kava. The fire’s cause remains under investigation, and officials had announced no cause as of Tuesday morning.
Those updates add to South Florida Digest’s initial report on the fire, published Monday, Nov. 9. The fire began at Backyard between 2:30 and 3 a.m. Monday, according to Fort Lauderdale Fire Chief Stephen Gollan, as reported by Miami New Times. CBS Miami placed the venue west of Third Avenue and south of West Broward Boulevard.
The blaze spread to Poorhouse, a longtime downtown dive bar at 110 SW Third Ave. Gollan told the South Florida Sun Sentinel, according to New Times, that some people were still inside Poorhouse when the fire reached it. Everyone was evacuated safely.
Patrons described a chaotic exit
A patron told CBS Miami that people rushed to get out as the fire spread.
“It was like a stampede almost. Everybody was running out. Everyone was tripping over everybody. But the workers themselves handled everything very calmly,” the patron said.
The account conveys the urgency of the evacuation while recognizing the response of the bar’s workers. Officials have not reported civilian injuries. One firefighter sustained minor injuries and was treated at the scene, CBS Miami reported. Miami Herald reporting summarized the injury as heat exhaustion.
The blaze was raised to a second alarm, bringing about 80 firefighters to the scene, according to CBS Miami. Crews brought it under control in about 30 minutes. Fort Lauderdale Fire Department officials confirmed Backyard was a total loss, New Times reported.
Photograph of fire-damaged Backyard remains by Allison Beck, courtesy of Miami New Times.
Owners say they plan to return
Backyard’s owners, Damn Good Hospitality, posted a statement on Instagram Monday afternoon. The company thanked police and fire officials for their response and the community for its “concern, encouragement and support.”
“We’ll be back and better than ever soon,” the statement said, as quoted by New Times. The owners did not provide a reopening date. New Times said it was unable to reach Damn Good Hospitality for further comment.
Damn Good Hospitality owns and operates Backyard and several other Fort Lauderdale establishments, according to New Times. The owners’ statement signals their intention to return, but it does not say when or how the venue might reopen.
Why Backyard was empty
The fire occurred hours after Backyard had celebrated the 10-year anniversary of its bottomless mimosa brunch. Staff shared videos of the celebration on Instagram, New Times reported.
The celebration was scheduled to end at 3 p.m., well before the early Monday morning fire. No one was inside Backyard when the blaze began, according to the report. That detail distinguishes the circumstances at Backyard from those at neighboring Poorhouse, where people were present and evacuated.
Fort Lauderdale officials at the scene after the fire. Photograph by Allison Beck, courtesy of Miami New Times.
Investigators have not announced a cause
The cause of the fire is unknown. City staff returned to the scene Monday morning to investigate, New Times reported. As of Tuesday morning, no cause had been announced.
Officials have not said what started the fire or provided a timeline for additional findings. There is no confirmed information about a cause, and no connection between the fire and any other issue affecting Himmarshee has been established.
The neighborhood has drawn attention in recent weeks over separate city and law-enforcement matters, which the Digest covered in its initial report. Those matters do not establish a cause for Monday’s fire.
Poorhouse’s status remains uncertain
Poorhouse Kava serves kava, kratom, herbal teas, juices and mocktails and hosts local music and open-mic events, according to New Times. The business’s owners had not responded to that publication’s inquiry by the time of its report.
CBS Miami reported that Poorhouse employees indicated off-camera that they planned to reopen in a few weeks. That was an informal indication, not an official reopening announcement. Poorhouse’s online events calendar still lists events from Nov. 16 onward, but an active calendar does not confirm that the venue will be open or that those events will proceed.
Illustrative South Florida streetscape; this is not a photograph of the affected Himmarshee block.
New Times reported that the block is also home to Revolution Live, Stache, Sway Nightclub and Dicey Riley’s Pub. It was unclear whether any of those venues were affected. The Digest’s earlier story noted Revolution Live’s own listing of “Revolution Live at the Backyard”; that connection does not establish that Revolution Live was damaged.
What remains unknown
As of Tuesday morning, investigators had not announced what caused the fire. Backyard has been declared a total loss, but its owners have not set a reopening date. Poorhouse’s condition and operating status have not been confirmed in an official statement, and the status of other nearby venues remains unclear.
For now, the confirmed updates are limited: Poorhouse was the neighboring business reached by the fire, everyone inside it got out safely, and Backyard’s owners say they hope to return. The next answers depend on the investigation and on updates from the businesses themselves.
