CLEARWATER, Fla. — A business owner is taking a chance by bringing his business downtown and introducing a new concept in Clearwater.
It's called Nash Keys and is a dueling piano bar, bringing extra entertainment to Cleveland Street.
It's the vision of Robert Cepeda, who moved to Clearwater and dreamed of opening up a fun, exciting place for people downtown.
He brought on his business partner, Tonatiuh Tello. This was all three years ago, but Nash Keys just opened up this month.
"We've been down here for about three years trying to get this place open like we just talked about a little bit ago. It's been a lot of obstacles between being a downtrodden town and, like you said, the influence that the church has here, as well as the inability of the city to get things going after the pandemic. It's been a struggle, about two years of permitting. And the last year, we really moved things forward," explained Tello.
In those three years, they did a pop-up at Prelude Sports Bar next door. But now that Nash Keys is open, it's their time to shine.
"It gave a chance for people just to get an idea of what we're actually bringing to the table. And to some people, when you ask, have you ever heard of the dueling piano bar? The two answers you usually get are yes, and I love them, or what is that?" said Cepeda.
"The amount of people that would show love, come in and believe in the process," said Tello. "It's one of the reasons I'm moving down. It's been inspiring. It makes you fall in love with the town."
If you've never been to a dueling piano bar, pianists go head to head with requests from the crowd, some comedy mixed, and others just pure entertainment.
The two are also taking on a new venture of an arcade sports bar on Cleveland Street too, really investing in what Cleveland Street and Downtown Clearwater can be.
"People look at this as kind of a proud child. You have a neighborhood where that child is kind of on its own and all the family picks up and brings up the child," Cepeda said. "So I think a lot of people are just proud that it's here. And you know, they love it. We love it. We love the ambiance, the lights, the music, everything about it. The food is great."
If you go:
Nash Keys is open Tuesdays through Saturdays, but the pianists are only there Thursdays through Saturdays.
Reservations are recommended. It's also 21 and up on the weekends.
They have a full menu and bar from a local chef. We hear he makes a delicious Cuban sandwich.
