Take 5: Rodney Mayo, guiding light of South Florida's indie entertainment scene

To say the South Florida nightclub and restaurant scene would be a much more bland and boring place without Rodney Mayo would be a great understatement. From humble beginnings in 1987 at his Respectable Street Cafe in downtown West Palm Beach to today’s empire of 13 hip bars and eateries with more in the works, Mayo has been at the forefront of South Florida’s growth of independent, wildly creative nightspots.

He’ll be celebrating his 25th year in business on Aug. 25 when Respectable Street hosts its annual block party on Clematis Street. The event will feature four stages and 25 bands, including punk legends The Misfits. The entire event is free and also will feature an open bar from 8 to 9 p.m. at participating clubs. We’ll have more updates as the event approaches, or check Respectable Street’s Facebook page.

We caught up with the reclusive Mayo recently at his latest project, the Hullabaloo gastropub, set to open this summer across from Respectable Street in the old Lounge space. Adjourning next door to his surf-themed Longboards restaurant, we posed these five questions:

Since we’re sitting here at Longboards, my first question is: What was the inspiration for Longboards?

Always on call: Rodney Mayo at Longboards in May 2012. (Photo by Hurricane Hayward)

“A couple good friends who are longboarders. It’s that culture and lifestyle. It’s kind of a laid-back lifestyle, stuck in the ’50s. And even though they weren’t born in the ’50s or lived through that era, they kind of hold onto that culture of the ’50s surfer. I decided it would be neat to create a place around that environment, as well as the ideal.”

All your ventures seem to be nothing like each other. Is there a common thread that runs through all of them?

“Hopefully that they’re unique, and they offer something that you can’t get in that particular area.”

What kind of a venture would you do if profitability wasn’t a factor?

“Make a movie. If money and profit weren’t any concern, yeah, I would make a movie.”

What’s your favorite club to DJ at?

“Respectables, because I can pretty much get away with playing what I want to play there, and the crowd still enjoys it.”

(Note: You can still find Mayo spinning at Respectable Street on some late Saturday nights, but “not that consistently anymore,” he says. “I’m getting lazy.”)