I think I am in love...No, silly, not with a human being! With this cozy, grungy locale in the heart of Little Haiti! Finally, a place that is FUN, has good music (translation: nothing that is in our crappy choice of radio stations in SoFla, and nothing that is playing in the clubs), and where I can wear whatever the hell I want and look however I want and STILL be welcomed, with open arms, by the freaks and geeks. No velvet ropes, arrogant patrons looking down on me, or douchey doormen discriminating anyone. A breath of fresh air.
Reminiscent of such iconic places as CBGBs in New York, which is now long gone, it is actually shocking to find such a cool place, which has history, mind you, in the midst of tropical, relatively modern, Miami. Who knew? Where have you been my whole life, Churchill's?
I had always been fascinated by documentaries I had seen while discovering punk/new wave/goth music in my 20s (not that long ago!) that showcased the Batcave in London, and I always cursed the fact I was too young to have ever experienced it for myself. I thought that such relics were relegated to the past, and I was just born too late, with nothing to do about it. Enter Churchill's. I am glad to see that all hope is not gone. Seeing people in their Misfits gear, leather jackets and piercings, I can still feel as if I am a part of that time.
I have heard they have an awesome Indian curry buffet on Wednesday nights, I will have to attempt to try it at least once. They also have jazz nights, if you're not into punk rock. It's cool to see the bands that come, they will play anything from Jimi Hendrix covers to hardcore punk rock, and there's a large sense of community. For example, leave it to patrons to adjust the sound system mid-song if there's equipment glitches, or microphone issues.
By the way, I thought I should mention this considering the somewhat negative reviews: I don't feel unsafe at Churchill's, I know a lot of people are saying that it's a crime-ridden area, but honestly, there are plenty of people hanging out outside all the time, not just homeless folks guarding the lots, but locals and plenty of patrons who go out to take a break from playing pool to have a smoke...do you think this would be happening if there really were stray bullets going off in this neighborhood? Little Haiti's got nothing on Liberty City late at night. Churchill's would be a yuppy hipster hangout without that element of danger and grunge, so common to punk rock clubs (see CBGBs, which was not in a posh area of town either).
Also, the people here are friendly without overstepping their bounds or being creepy. There are girls who go there on their own and don't feel harassed like they would at a "mainstream" club. People are there to genuinely laugh, joke around, heckle the bands sometimes, dance, and jam, without a care in the world about how silly they may look while dancing, they are not there to exclusively use the place as a pickup bar.
PS: I used the bathroom a few weekends ago and it was actually clean, much cleaner than some restaurant bathrooms and yes, there WAS toilet paper, unlike some restaurant bathrooms. I was expecting to find graffiti'd walls, toilet paper and pee all over the floors and poop-covered toilet seats based on some of the reviews on here, but the toilet and bathroom itself was clean, small, but clean, and this was around 2 a.m., I guess they must have done some remodeling and cleanup. read more