M.M. Cloutier
Special to the Daily News
Coinciding with the Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood on Sunday, The Breakers is rolling out the red carpet for an Oscar celebration with pandemic protocols.
Three of the resort-hotel’s restaurants its onsite HMF and Seafood Bar and its offsite Echo on Sunrise Avenue will feature Oscar-themed cocktails and show the 8 p.m. Academy Awards ceremony on television.
Oscar doings at The Breakers come as Café L’Europe is skipping the restaurant’s annual Oscar party this year, with plans to resume the fun next season.
Because Café L’Europe’s Oscar celebration a 22-year tradition, complete with human-sized Oscar statuettes typically involves a crowded indoor party, “it just doesn’t make sense” during a pandemic, owner Jennifer Marcello said.
The aroma of doughnuts and fresh-ground coffee wafted through Via Flagler on Friday morning, signaling another step in the revitalization of Royal Poinciana Way in Palm Beach.
“We envisioned what this area once was. Now we are bringing the energy and fun back,” said David Frisbie, a partner with The Breakers in the new café and contemporary boutique called Main Street by The Breakers.
Frisbie and his wife Suzanne were the first customers when doors swung open at 6:30 a.m.
Via Flagler is a 1.3-acre, mixed-use development on the site of the former Testa’s restaurant. The Testa’s building, along with an adjacent empty gas station and shopping area, was demolished and replaced by Via Flagler, which also includes The Breakers Henry’s restaurant.