AQUA Gets Its Name Back

It started with the first in a cascade of texts a few months ago.

Would you buy Aqua?

Jill McDonald had already retired from the world of nightclubs, bars and restaurants. So the text she received while watching television at home in Venice, Florida, seemed more like a nostalgic sentiment referencing days gone by.

She replied, "sure," and thought nothing of it.

But then the messages and calls kept coming.

Word had gotten out that AquaPlex Key West was heading toward an abrupt shutdown amid allegations of unpaid rent and employee wages. In the coming weeks, both AquaPlex and The Birdcage became entangled in eviction proceedings, while 22&Co., known as the tutu bar, also ceased operations in August as uncertainty settled over the businesses that were connected through a liquor license.

Given the rapid onset of developments, McDonald thought it was a good time to return with her longtime partner, Sandy Thomas, and get a better sense of the fallout that would lead one of Key West's most iconic LGBTQ+ venues to go dark and turn off its lights this summer.

Lights that McDonald probably helped install and design more than a decade earlier when she co-owned the bar and nightclub in that very same space.

"We love Key West, always have, always will, and always loved AQUA," McDonald said. "I just hated to see what was happening to not only the community as far as losing AQUA, but particularly the staff."

In fact, many employees who were still working at the location earlier this year had worked with McDonald and Thomas all those years ago.

"I felt the devastation that they were feeling and I just thought, I can do this one more time."

The road trip solidified a decision she had already, perhaps unwittingly, made from back home in Venice.

Now, McDonald and Thomas are set to deliver perhaps the most unexpected act of their careers: rebuilding the place where one of their most recognized acts began.

Reclaiming a Name

Recently, McDonald took to social media to inform friends that the signing of the lease at 711 Duval was complete.

The announcement was brief, perhaps reflecting her expedient approach to what appears to be a massive undertaking. There was little time for elaborate proclamations or dwelling on the continued fallout surrounding Pride Holdings Group, the umbrella corporation whose holdings included AquaPlex and other LGBTQ+ businesses in South Florida that have since shuttered.

There was a lot of work to be done, especially if an expected October opening was to be met.

And while the space will be new, there was never much doubt about what the name above the door would be.

"It's going back to AQUA. There will be no AquaPlex. That was never my name," McDonald said matter-of-factly.

It is expected to be something of a return to form for the once-celebrated nightclub, with the Aquanettes, live DJs, festival parties, the charitable sing-offs known as Aqua Idol, Dueling Bartenders, and Hot Dog Church all part of the familiar DNA. McDonald also promises new attractions and events that she isn't ready to reveal just yet.

But anyone expecting the old AQUA to simply be spruced up and switched back on will be in for a surprise.

Familiar Faces, Fresh Look

McDonald, who is quite hands-on, has already brought in an engineer to assess the location's admittedly extensive needs.

The roof requires major work. Portions of the front walls have already been opened up to better identify the source and extent of spalling caused by years of water intrusion. And there is considerably more work expected to come as the inside will be completely remodeled.

"People won't recognize it," McDonald said. "I hope they don't recognize it because we're going to be doing a whole lot to it. There isn't a surface that isn't going to be touched."

When it comes to the faces of this space, however, many should prove familiar.

McDonald and Thomas' ties to their original crew, including employees who were still working at AquaPlex when they learned it would be closing, meant the couple was eager to welcome many of them back. Managers, bartenders and, of course, performers are expected to return.

The rear outdoor portion of the venue will also get a new identity.

The Back Bar will become Swell, a name that keeps the water theme running through the newly restored AQUA.

Crucially, the new operation will not include the former Birdcage space on Angela Street, once known as SideBar.

According to McDonald, who provided an update to earlier statements after the time of publishing, there could be plans that see 22&Co. co-owner Jenn Stefancacci Portier assume the former Birdcage space while maintaining the original tutu bar and concept in some form. Stefancacci Portier has not yet issued any public comment on those plans.

With all these changes, it is apparent the entire map is being redrawn.

Making Waves Again

McDonald's brief online announcement making her comeback official proclaimed that AQUA was "Making Waves Again."

Hundreds of people interacted with or shared the news.

Word quickly traveled to other South Florida communities where LGBTQ+ businesses had also been adversely affected by decisions tied to Pride Holdings Group. To some, the announcement represented one of the first tangible signs that something recognizable, and perhaps better, could emerge from the wreckage.

For McDonald, the response has been heartwarming.

"I mean, the outreach, the number of people that have reached out to me offering help in any form is incredible. And that's one of the things that obviously I love about this island."

"It's one of the things that brought me back to this island because there is no place like Key West. There just isn't."

The reaction reassured her that by returning, she was making the right move.

"It told me that I'm doing the right thing, that this is needed and I'm the right person to do it. So I feel really good."

During her earlier years at the helm, she remembers AQUA as a place where locals came to socialize and celebrate, and also somewhere people gathered when the island needed community after tragedy. Restoring that sense of family is now among her top priorities.

McDonald is even planning a private opening geared toward locals before AQUA fully introduces itself to the crowds that walk Duval Street.

After years away, she will bring decades of experience back to the business in hopes of returning AQUA to its peak.

But she wants the island to understand that the the story of this comeback is as much about the people who kept the place in their memories.

"They're the ones that made it. They're the ones that love it. They're the ones that want it.

"And that's the reason why I'm doing it, because of the community."