Palm Beach Post

By ALEXANDRA CLOUGH

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Thursday, October 01, 2009

Restaurants have to attract the public's attention if they want to compete in this fickle and value-conscious dining market. So two eateries are opening with splashy specials.

First up: Barbecue. Park Avenue BBQ Grille is expanding to Boca Raton, taking the home of the original, and legendary, Tom's Place barbecueat Glades Road and Dixie Highway. (The building formerly was occupied by the failed Dwayne Wade sports-grill chain, and before that, Bucky's Barbecue. ) Owner Dean Lavallee said the recession created an opportunity for Jupiter-based Park Avenue to expand into Boca at a good lease price. "There's opportunity in pork in Glades and Dixie, and we hope to take advantage of that," Lavallee said. He expects the chain's 10th restaurant to be open in mid-November.

To introduce Park Avenue to Boca diners, and celebrate the company's 21st year in business, Park Avenue plans a chain-wide promotion during the first week of December: Food at 1988 prices. For instance, a full rack of baby back ribs will cost $9.99, down from the usual $17.99 price.

Meanwhile, Harpoon Louie's, the iconic Jupiter seafood restaurant, has returned to South Florida, led by its original operator, Ken DePasquale. To celebrate, DePasquale isn't hosting a grand opening at his new oceanfront location in Deerfield Beach. Instead, he's hosting some grand deals, starting with 50 percent off every food item Monday through Friday, and after 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The deal started Thursday and runs for a week, at least. The idea is to do something nice for consumers: "I'd rather do this than blow $15,000 on a big grand opening," DePasquale said.

For those not familiar with Harpoon Louie's, this popular seafood restaurant facing the Jupiter Lighthouse once was a landmark in north county and the site of many engagements and celebrations. DePasquale and majority owner Bill Coleman came up with the concept during the 1970s, and they cornered the mid-priced dining market in northern Palm Beach County throughout that decade and into the 1980s. At one point they served 600,000 meals a year. In 1987, the restaurant was sold. (The restaurant space is now known as the Crab House).

The Prakas Group's Tom Prakas brokered both deals and serves as a consultant to Harpoon Louie's, too.

Now for something completely different: Clematis Street in West Palm Beach has hooked Off The Hookah, anEgyptian restaurant and lounge. The Fort Lauderdale restaurant company (which also has a location in Richmond, Va.) is taking a whopping 15,000 square feet of space formerly occupied by

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