Miami Beach’s Palace Bar, three decades plus later, remains the place to see and be seen in Miami Beach. Whether you’re looking for a consistently killer drag show, a late night nosh or some fantastic celebrity spotting, Palace Bar’s picturesque and spacious environment remains the destination of choice. This weekend, all eyes are on Palace Bar as they celebrate their thirty-sixth anniversary, Under The Big Top & Palace Bar Owner Thomas Donall and General Manger AJ Prasaguet continue to be the most inventive ringmasters around. From globally renowned DJ’s to a polarizing drag performer, Prasaguet has crafted a weekend not to be missed. I sat down to chat with him about the brand new lounge Palace Bar has opened up, what they have planned for the big weekend, and why Palace Bar remains the place to see and be seen in Miami Beach.
Michael Cook: Palace Bar celebrates thirty-six years this weekend. You have been providing top notch entertainment to South Beach for close to four decades, this deserves a celebration!
AJ Prasaguet: The theme is ‘Circus, Under The Big Top’. I look at Palace as being a fun circus every day so I wanted to run with a theme that was cohensive to the community and to what we offer and to bring some entertainment that Palace has not done in the past. We have done that for the last six or seven months also where we have done theme weekends We started with ‘Barbie’ when the film was released in July and it was a huge hit. We did Beyoncé in August when she came down and had her concert which was also a huge hit. We had her dance and management team come in, which was very big and special for us.
MC: What do you have planned to celebrate this momentous occasion?
AJP: We are doing the main anniversary event on Friday night when the commissioners and Mayor come out for the proclamation of ‘Palace Day’, which we have had for the past fifteen or sixteen years. We have Plane Jane from the current season of RuPaul’s Drag Race coming, and she is going to do the viewing party for Drag Race and perform throughout the evening along with the other queens. We have a special menu set up and we are going to add our lounge that we now have.
MC: Tell me more about the lounge space you’ve opened up, it’s getting a great deal of buzz….
AJP: We bought a space adjacent to us a little over a year ago and it hadn’t been utilized before. I have been doing late night events until four our five am and it has been a success. There is a need for that, Miami Beach doesn’t have that outside of Twist, so it has been a nice little pick up for us. We started that in November and December we did a couple of events and this weekend we have a big Sunday night event rolling into five am! On Saturday, I am bringing in Ada Vox from American Idol and Queen of the Universe, and Sunday, I am bringing Eliad Cohen who DJ’s on the rooftop until 10pm & DJ Arno Diem will be there from 10pm until 5 am. I wanted to make a whole week of it and make it something special and create some buzz. We haven’t had anything in prior years within the LGBTQ community that does anything for President’s Day so I wanted to do that.
MC: Tell me about your own history at the Palace….
AJP: I’ve been there a year. I used to be the GM of the Royal Palm and worked with that management company for almost eleven years. Knowing that my cannabis business was getting closer, I wanted a no nonsense, no stress job. I went to Tom (Donall, Palace owner) and asked if he had any bartending gigs. Within the first few weeks, he saw that I cared too much and I was whipping other bartenders into shape. He had to ask me for about two months to be the GM and he finally got through to my husband and I. My husband agreed to move to New Jersey immediately and make sure our business there gets to completion and I started as GM at The Palace on Pride weekend last April.
MC: Putting together events like this is definitely making sure you have the right elements in place. For Palace’s thirty-sixth anniversary, you definitely seem to have something for everyone. Plane Jane for example,. Is definitely the queen that has everyone buzzing this season on Drag Race!
AJP: The drag scene is definitely tough, and I wanted to do something special. Why not bring someone who is fresh with this new fire to them? She reminds me of me, from the first episode that she was on; I was drawn to her. She was one of the first queens I went after and I used my connections to get her for our anniversary! I think that element of fire, funny and that raw talent, why not bring in who is the talk of the town to Miami? I knew that it would be something spectacular; and we’re already almost sold out!
MC: You mentioned you used to produce events of your own; what do you think crafts events that truly are revolutionary and one of a kind?
AJ: I have a degree in marketing so my eye is drawn to where to fill in the voids. For years, Palace was “Palace” and we rested on that name. There was nothing different and it was the same, but now, there is so much more drag that I wanted to curate the new, fresh and and fun. Not just the drag either, I wanted to make it about the DJ’s, about the music, the space, and the great service. I’ve spent hours on implementing new training levels, the quality of the food and the cocktails, and trying to enhance and elevate everything so we are the premier space. It’s not easy and everyone wants a piece of the pie and I want to make sure that we get more than our piece of the pie!
MC: So many nightlife space rely on the name, but for nightlife spaces in general, it is crucial to continue elevating. What do you want people to think about for the next thirty-six years?
AJP: I definitely want Palace to be the place that is inclusive where you can be yourself, have the most fun, and you can have “the” experience in every facet of the space; and I think that is what was missing. Over the years, we may have lost the touch of the LGBTQ+ community and I have made that my goal to tap back into that. To bring in DJ’s that are gay, we’re doing the lesbian party in April that is bringing in 500 lesbians, which Palace never would have done in the past. We have to evolve, even with our social media and we have changed things there. I am blessed and Tom has let me do what I want.
AJP: I run it like a business and make sure I am smart about making the decisions. Palace is always going to be known as a fun and exciting place to go to, but I wanted to make it an overall well rounded place. The food, the shows, the rooftop to lay at the pool and hear tunes on the weekend. Now we do drag every day; Tuesday Wednesday, Thursday we have ‘Ladies Who Lunch’ and we have over one hundred people daily. It’s been working but you have to have everything to make it work; and we do.
As for Plane Jane, this RuPaul’s Drag Race breakout star is poised and ready to take on Miami Beach this weekend. She chatted with me as she prepared to land in the Sunshine State about what it will be like to hit the Palace stage this weekend, her Miami Beach connections, and what it’s been like to be a newly minted Drag Race superstar!
Michael Cook: What does it feel like to take part in Palace Bar’s anniversary this weekend and have you ever experienced their amazing shows before?
Plane Jane: I’m very excited to perform at Palace, I’ve never experienced their shows in person, but I’ve seen many a video of my Miami sisters killing it there. It’s a legendary venue
MC: Florida is also home to the House of Dion, which you are an honorary part of. Have the dolls of Dion given you any hints about the fans in the Sunshine State?
PJ: I’ve performed with my Dion family in Miami before and it’s always a great time. I’ve received many DN’s from fans in Miam and I’m really looking forward to getting back to my second home and giving them a show!
MC: RuPaul’s Drag Race remains a globally dominant franchise and you are a huge part of Season 16. What has the fan reaction for you been as the season has played out?
PJ: The fan reaction online seems mixed, but I’m undeniably the most talked about queen online. That being said, the fan response in person has been fantastic and always positive. It’s incredible the see so many people always coming out to support-I’m truly living my dream.
MC: What are you looking forward to the most about appearing at Palace this weekend and what can fans expect?
PJ: I am just excited to perform and see all of my friends, drag family, and fans! Miami is like a home away from home and I am excited to be back and perform for the first time at the legendary Palace!
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