Florida Agenda

By DALE MADISON

Matt Auslander is no stranger the bar and grill business. For years, he was the general manager at venerable Wilton Manors staple Georgie’s Alibi. Thinking that the grass might be greener out west, Auslander decided to pull up stakes and give Las Vegas a spin. As he likes to put it, he soon learned “there ain’t much grass in Vegas.”

After about a year in the arid Intermountain West, he returned to Fort Lauderdale. It wasn’t his first stop on the ‘service train,’ one that first pulled away from the station almost 30 years ago. “My first foray into the hospitality business was in 1985,” the native of Manhattan recalled. “There was a restaurant in my neighborhood that I frequented. I was in one night and the maitre d’ came up to me and asked, “Do you want to work here?” Auslander turned out to be a “quick study.”

“I began as a server, then two days later I was promoted to bar back. I worked in that position, and then two days later I started bartending. I worked one summer for Julius in [Greenwich] Village [located about a block from the historic Stonewall Inn]—which was a real happening spot and I then in 1994 I moved to Fort Lauderdale.”

Auslander worked at Club Elektra in Fort Lauderdale, and eventually to that Gayborhood standard, the Alibi. The experience would leave an impression. “Having worked for George at the Alibi, it gave me the freedom to go to another part of my career. I got to work in Saint Pete, and then opened Alibi Palm Springs, which was a great experience, but I really wanted my own place.”

That place would be Matty’s on the Drive, which he would locate at the northern tip of Wilton Drive, within throwing distance of Five Points. Auslander is proud of his accomplishment. “Since we opened four years ago, we have won ‘Best New Bar’ in 2008, in 2009 we won ‘Best Signature Martini,’ and in 2012, ‘Best Bar,” he noted before adding, “and now onto the next frontier.”

Ironically, that next frontier takes him back to where it began. “We recently purchased the former Oscar Wilde bar,” in New York City’s Manhattan, “and while we are still working on the details, we are very excited about the addition,” Auslander says.

Even as he plans for expansion to the New York tavern, Auslander is determined to provide great service to his existing local patrons. “We have our employee Turn-About show coming up October 15, and we will be heavily involved with Wicked Wilton Halloween on the 31st, including a dance floor and”— now hear this—“a castle we are building to coincide with the theme,” he said, adding ‘wickedly,’ “Anything can happen in the Castle.”

Last Sunday, September 23, Auslander celebrated a birthday, which he insists makes him one year closer to 40. That “extra” year has made him a little wiser, too, and made him one of the community’s business owners who help make Wilton Manors a destination spot. Stop in and say hi to Auslander at Matty’s on the Drive, located at 2426 Wilton Drive, Wilton Manors.

Alex Vaughn

It has happened … I turned 29 this week and I can now see 30 coming at me like a juggernaut. This unsurprisingly got me thinking about age: Is it really anything more than a number? In so many cases it isn’t; I don’t feel 29, I don’t look 29 (sadly, I have always looked about 32, contrary to the various ‘procedures’ I have endured to stay 21 forever!) All in all, I feel pretty good about being 29 … well, I did until one of my soon-to-be former friends pointed out that in the gay world age works similar to the scale we use to guess a dogs age (take from that what you will).

So, apparently I now fall into a lost age group and won’t be found again till 32, the ages in the gay world are 18, 21, 24, 32, 35, the ever-popular 39, anywhere between 42 – 48, then dead. According to this cruel and evil scale, I am roughly middle aged. (Definitely a more worrying thought than turning 30.)

So, here I am in middle age, too young to be ‘old’ and too old to be a twinky. What to do? Well, turning to drink would be fruitless (and a road already well-travelled), drugs aren’t going to do it (though a Vicodin here or there wouldn’t hurt!). Promiscuity? Not feeling that either. I am nearly 30 – after all, surely it’s time to settle down, right? Age may just be a number, but the higher it gets the more neurotic one becomes!

Don’t worry; I am not going to get into a tirade about a culture obsessed with youth, mainly because it’s been done – we get it: old = bad, young = good. I disagree with the status quo, more than likely because I now don’t think of myself as young anymore. I have taken on responsibilities, got a life (so to speak) and am on track to becoming a contributing member of society. Gone are the flitting days of youth, and sure I miss them, responsibility free days of gay abandon. Experience, however, has taught me being too young does you no favors. Being good-looking is the only thing to bank on!

All in all, that age-old saying “you are only as old as you feel” has plenty of joke possibilities, but it’s a good way to go; live life to its fullest and feel whatever age you want. We are an aging population and people love to say the gay community is obsessed with youth, so many older guys claim they are ‘recapturing their youth’ by dating the ‘cute as a button, not quite as smart twink’; however,  it’s worth noting that the 50-year old divorced straight man with the 22 year old big busted blonde fiancé is no different. Let’s not blame the community – as I get older I’m blaming everyone. A sort of equal opportunity blame. No, seriously, a more positive step would be to make sure we each know age is just a number, and the way to make it hurt less, is to be proud of whom you are and where you are in your life.

So where does that leave me? Well, like anyone, a bit of self-help and I am super positive, till I think a little more; I would like to believe I am a good prospect for a relationship now that I have matured somewhat… unfortunately, and very generally speaking, with so many different rules and regulations in the gay community it would seem I am not eligible for such a thing until I hit the next age bracket. At 21, there would have been no problem, as I go for older it worked perfectly up I would say till 26, checking my sliding scale, that would be another ‘lost’ age. After 26, I can’t be the younger guy, so to speak. I will be the first to admit this self-pity is just an excuse. ‘The One’ as it were, will rarely be lost due to something as trivial as a number, but that logical thought will remain on the outskirts of my semi-private pre-30 internal meltdown.

So, we know what’s attractive in youth, but what about in age? Well, there’s always the parental figure theory. I personally don’t go in for it, but I know many who do; older men are oft looking for a son, one they couldn’t have, they will make poor choices and be taken advantage of, as well of course as being used as an ATM, though people would argue, many actual dads feel that way!  Then there is the wealth of experience that could be that offers the theory that a higher ‘number’ is so much more attractive. I stress ‘could be’; age in this case is nothing but a number, trust me it does not equate to more intelligence or even more experience for that matter. I have spent plenty of time with people older than myself who seem to have lived under rocks!

Many of my friends back home have already hit 29 and we all agree it feels a bit like the green mile. Thirty is coming, there’s nothing to be  done about it and we have all started scrambling around wondering where our youth has gone,  questioning if we have, or when  we will, achieve our hopes, dreams and all that jazz. Then it hits you … that question. Am I where I thought I’d be? I have  decided I am close, what do you think for yourself? With all that said, I shall remain 29 till I achieve a couple more of my goals, so after reading this you will forget I ever divulged my real age, and will act with utter shock and surprise when I tell you next April that I, in fact, could quite possibly be turning 29!

Alex Vaughn is the Editor-in-Chief of the Florida Agenda. He can be  reached at editor@FloridaAgenda.com

MIAMI, FL – Edison Farrow and his SoBe Social Club will be paying tribute to WSVN news anchor and community favorite Craig Stevens on his birthday. The party will be held at Farrow’s “The Simple Life Thursdays” at Cameo (1445 Washington Avenue, Miami Beach) on Thursday, April 21st.

This new Thursday night at Cameo has proven to be an instant hit; the first two weeks were a huge success. Drink prices have been lowered and the cover charge is only $5 and will feature DJ Daisy D.

Craig Stevens co-anchors the news on Channel 7 at 5:00, 6:00, 10:00 and 11:00pm weeknights with Belkys Nerey. He also co-anchors two daily webcasts on WSVN.COM. He has been an anchor and reporter for nearly 20 years.

At WSVN, Stevens has reported a wide range of stories: several hurricanes beginning with “Andrew,” the Oklahoma City bombing, elections from the local level to national races, including the disputed 2000 Presidential Election from Austin, Texas. He spent weeks following the murder of fashion designer Gianni Versace and the manhunt for Andrew Cunanan, Pope John Paul II’s visits to Cuba and the United States, the death of JFK, Jr., the Elian Gonzalez saga and Fidel Castro’s visit to the United Nations.