Bird Key Yacht Club keeps members entertained

Throughout the pandemic, those visiting Bird Key Yacht Club have gotten to hang on to one modicum of normalcy — live music during dinner. 

Ben Weiner, the club’s longtime guitarist and entertainer, kept strumming the whole time, playing for guests as they picked up their socially distanced take-out meals while the club was closed for dine-in, and later playing in a corner as guests slowly returned to the dining rooms. He’s heard, but not necessarily seen, he said. 

“I was impressed with how loyal the members of the Bird Key Yacht Club were,” Weiner said. “Even though they couldn't come in and have dinner and sit down, they would drive up, make sure that it goes this way, some of the servers still have to work, the cooks got to work.”

The club continued serving dinner to its membership, smoothly swapping bustling ballroom bashes with a tidy train of takeout.

“(Gov.) DeSantis said that on a Friday that everything was going to be shut down,” general manager Scott Brynski said. “Ben was scheduled to play here on Saturday and I just had the idea, why not put him outside in the valet when we were going to do our to-gos? I had to reroute.”

Weiner got involved with the Bird Key Yacht Club several years ago when he asked about using the marina as a spot to dock his live aboard boat. That didn’t pan out, but Brynski decided to hire Weiner. He’s played at dozens of the club’s social events since and for now, will keep playing. 

“That was great and the fact that they would include me and let me be part of that, I felt very, very lucky, very privileged that they would let me do that,” Weiner said. “The first time I did it, you know, it was kind of like, ‘Well, we’ll see how this goes.’ But everybody loved it ... They thought it was a really cool thing. They just wanted to hang out and listen, because it was a nice way to still get outside and do something without having anywhere else to go.”

Weiner was just having fun with it most nights, chatting with staff as they moved around the club. You have to learn to entertain yourself during this time, he said. He took song requests and even played a few songs that he’d put a quarantine spin on. “Homeward Bound” basically wrote itself — “Home, till the virus dies out; Home, till the groceries run out.”

“I put him out there and lo and behold, people were pulling over in their cars after they got their to-gos and it turned out to be a nice thing for the membership,” Brynski said. “They started to look forward to seeing him. They would actually come over, get drinks, just stand in the parking lot and listen to him.” 

Weiner actually had a busy May, clocking over 20 gigs during the third month of the pandemic. He’s been “having the time of (his) life,” playing other live shows on the lawns of assisted living facilities and at his own home, Riviera Maya, but he has a standing date with Bird Key Yacht Club on Fridays and Saturdays. Despite the masks, he’s gotten to know some of the folks who regularly stop by. 

“He's turned out to be one of the family, you know,” Brynski said. “I know he loves our meals here … I know he looks forward to that. But he looks forward to putting smiles on people’s faces even more.” 

Weiner has grown to appreciate the members. 

“My whole feeling is that they really care about their club, and everybody kind of chipped in,” Weiner said. “One of the members called, I know that they gave some kind of bonuses to the staff. They're all going to pull you up a little bit, make sure that everybody was okay. Isn't that what it's all supposed to be about?”