Progress Bar South Florida

This place is interesting in the fact that esthetically I love it. I love the vibe, the music– everything, but something is missing and I’m not sure what.
Every time I’ve been here it’s kind of just dead. I don’t know why. Maybe the nights I have gone haven’t been prime times to be there. Each time has been that, «ok, let’s just have one drink and go» situations.
I have noticed that the staff really only interacts with each others which can be off-​putting. Maybe because it’s slow they have to keep busy somehow? I’m not sure but I did notice there wasn’t much interaction with customers.
I like the back area that’s open. Like I said, I like this place but I don’t know it’s dead when I go.
I would like it more I’m sure if there were more people there.
Hopefully they figure out their niche and find a way to bring people in because I wouldn’t want to see it shut down or fail.

Always dead inside. What’s up with that ??? Staff does not interact much with customers. Too bad. — won’t last long.

I think this place made much more sense when it was New Moon, more of a lesbian scene. To call it «Progress Bar» is a far reach, considering the place is definitely a smidge nicer but hasnt progressed much. I came with a friend from Chicago who is a huge fan of this bars predecessor up there and he loved it. I, on the other hand, wasn’t thrilled with how suffocating the indoor area is. Very small and dark. The drinks are… meh. Nothing out of this world. Fairly pricey too, for no reason. Bartenders are NOT very friendly here and standoffish for some reason. They seem unwilling to genuinely engage with customers which isn’t very smart if they’re working off of tips. My favorite night here was when Gia Gunn made an appearance for a Rupauls Drag Race viewing party. I was actually one of the only people who seemed starstruck by her and asked for a photo because she was sorta being treated like a regular patron of the bar. Her performance was underwhelming.

I really like this place. And I want to like it more.
The modern aesthetic is very cool. The owners are from Chicago, but for some reason I always think that the interior feels more like an LA spot — which is fine. The outdoor covered bar/​patio area is a really nice space, too.
There is a dance floor area inside, but it’s not huge which, again, is fine. Aside from Friday and Saturday night, this is more of a ‘sit and chill’ place, for the most part. It’s kinda set-​up for that with lots of little ‘conversation areas’ both inside and outside. There’s also a pool table inside, which is much better utilized when the place isn’t packed.
Bartenders are always friendly and chatty. And some nights of the week, they tend bar in their underwear. That’s never a bad thing. (And you can totally get away with that when you’re 23 and you’re cute.)
We tend to show up on the less-​busy nights. So far, we’ve only ever been there on Sunday and Monday evenings. On those nights there’s usually only a few other people around — and I do mean ‘only a few,’ as in eight or 10 other guests total in the whole place.
I’m not quite sure why that is, though, because just down the street, the bars in and around Wilton Manors Plaza are always packed on Sunday and Monday nights.
Maybe it’s just a distance thing. But, with all of the new retail/​restaurant spaces along the North end of Wilton Drive beginning to fill-​in, maybe the designated ‘bar crawl zone’ along The Drive will stretch more seamlessly from one end to the other.
I sure hope so, because I really do like a lot of the things that Progress has to offer.
One bit of ‘constructive criticism’ I would like to put on the table for consideration by the folks at Progress would be the volume on the sound system — both inside and out. Good God almighty. When you only have a handful of guests in the entire place, you can crank-​down the volume on the sound system by at least 50%. Probably more.
There have been multiple times on those less-​busy nights when I’ve not been able to hear the bartenders — even when we’re leaning-​in across the bar to talk to each other. That’s a legitimate business problem. If your bartender can’t hear me — and if can’t hear him — more than likely, I’m only going to order one drink and be done with it.
Life’s tough enough already. Don’t make me work that hard just to get a shot of tequila. If I’ve walked into your bar, then there’s a good chance that I already want to buy a couple of drinks from you. Find a way to let me do that easily.
And that’s not just the ‘old dude’ in me being cranky. Believe me, I like it loud just as much as the next guy. I really do. But when there’s literally 10 or 15 people in the entire place — including the bar staff — please dial back the sound.
A little less volume on the sound system will be much more conducive to conversation among patrons, too, which is how the furniture groupings both inside and on the patio are configured. They’re meant to be ‘conversation areas.’ And if people are sitting around and talking and laughing and having a good time, they’ll probably order more drinks.
On a busy Saturday night, maybe that’s not such a big deal. Agreed.
But on a slower night, it could make the difference between selling 10 drinks to 10 people or selling 30 drinks to 10 people. You do the math.
It’s a win/​win scenario.
Again, I really enjoy the vibe and the atmosphere at Progress. I hope many other people make it a part of the ‘nightly rounds,’ as well.

Agree with above… We went there, as we love to support local business. Walked in, probably only 4 – 5 people in the bar, Went up stood, stood, stood, of course the bartender walked by 3 – 4 times but never said a word… We walked around and looked the place over… Like an auditorium with no personality… but OK, went back to bar and Stood, and Stood and Stood, Bartender walked by… still no acknowledgement or drink. We left! I hope they get it together as its nice to have diversity and variety on the drive. I don’t wish anyone bad luck and want all to succeed…

The newly opened Progressbar is a complete remodel not only in décor but also in customer base of what was the New Moon, a predominately lesbian bar. Its rather splashy with very «in» decorative lighting, trendy music, flat screens, ultra-​modern, sort of WeHo (West Hollywood) in style and character, now having a customer base of the late twenties to thirties something gay males, or as some have said, it’s no longer a girls bar, it’s a Wilton Manors «gurls» bar.
Though subjectively not my type of gay bar it’s a pretty cool place with plenty of open space in the main bar, super friendly and super competent bar tenders. The best part of it, however, is the back patio bar on the located on the alleyway, which has tables and seating along with its approximately 12 space parking lot. Indeed they really did the community a favor in having torn down what was that horrid nearby eyesore wreak of structure commonly known as the drug stash.

OMG, This place is a joke… they just open and it already sucks… We got all dress up to go and see the new Bar in town, order wine and the wine was served in regular glaases, they do not have wine glasses!!! REALLY, when at the thrift store they are 50. cents each. (note to bar owner Poverello is having a 50%off sale… get some glasses.
And the bar tender needs to be better trained to greet customers!!!
GOOD LUCK… Will never come back.

This bar is fucking amazing! Great staff, FABULOUS drinks, and great music! I’ll be back for more!