The word of mouth is attracting many Sanford-area barflies to Jason's Martini Club, a cool new place for martinis.
(Credit: MikeAnthony Moffa)
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Not the best marketing plan, but the bartender I talked to on the phone for directions after my third try said they're working on getting a sign out there. Thankfully, word of mouth is attracting a crowd to this rather cool-looking club (once you're in the front door), otherwise the mainstream would assume it's either a strip joint or a deserted business and ignore it entirely.
I thought it had a rather speakeasy feel to it, but this isn't L.A., it's Sanford. Come to think of it, what is a martini bar doing in Sanford after all?
Wait a second, let's not dog Sanford -- recently they've created quite the little nightlife scene for themselves in the downtown corridor between The Alley, Emerald Hen Pub, The West End Trading Company and others.
My best bud, Kristin, was extremely happy there was a martini bar specifically in this neck of the woods, considering she lives in DeBary and this would be just a hop, skip and a 10-minute car ride down I-4 instead of her normal trek into downtown Orlando.
But, besides a sign, there was another big item missing from this martini club -- a martini list.
I rattled off some suggestions when she initially went blank after the bartender asked her what she wanted. That martini list, too, is supposedly on its way, but the place has been open two months now -- it should already be in place.
We ordered Girl Scout Cookie martinis, a tasty alcoholic take on the Girl Scout Thin Mint cookie. At roughly 8 bucks a pop, it wasn't a bad deal. But the second attempt didn't prove as easy -- the next bartender I dealt with clearly didn't know how to make it. She tried to pull it off anyway and created a minty mess.
I talked to a couple sitting at the bar, Ken and Laurie, who drove to Jason's from Volusia County to get a more upscale nightlife experience, compared to the sports-bar norm much of their area is littered with. After coming by a few times, Laurie has noticed the bartending is a bit inconsistent. But let's cut them some slack -- they've been open only a couple of months.
Inside, fiber-optic lighting creates a starry-skied ceiling, with timed lighting throughout the bar morphing from red to purple to blue. Our corner booth had ridiculously comfy seating, with a transparent cylinder-shaped centerpiece blowing fire that spun through the center, just too neat. On the outside patio where the smokers are exiled, the dancing lights continued, and into the bathrooms, where the frosted glass doors were lined with them.
House music took over the dance floor, and so did the people come 11 p.m. -- for a rather vacant-looking building from the outside it got seriously packed. And it was fun. The nice thing about this martini bar being in Sanford is, it's not attracting the usual martini crowd you'll find in downtown Orlando. People mingled throughout the evening, and even though the bar claims to enforce a dress code, as long as you don't walk in with a wife beater and ripped jeans you should be fine.
This is a nice addition to Sanford; hopefully they'll have a martini list soon. Once the whole staff is trained on it, this should be a big draw to folks looking for a good time in that area.
Jason's Martini Club at 300 Sanford Ave. is open from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Go to myspace.com/jasons martiniclub
