Rumors

i have eaten here 2 times and both times had almost the same sandwitch, the regular ruben and the turkey rueben
service was good and fast and i enjoyed my experience.

Drove from Miami for their advertised beer pong tournament that they didn't have.  karaoke in one room that mixed with dance music from the other room to just make awful noise at the middle bar.  Bartender Ryan was cute and friendly...that's the only reason to go to this bar.

I was a fan of this place back when it was called "Matty's on the Drive".  On any given Friday or Saturday night, you could count on a lively crowd, attractive bartenders and staff and a simple "come as you are" bar with no particular theme or key demographic.

I'd heard that Matty's was shuttered months ago due to a legal issue, and that someone else had taken it over and opened it as "Rumors".  The newly named place looks similar, except that all the flags that once adorned the left wall of the main bar are gone and they've taken out about 1/3 of the wall that once separated the main bar and the second, smaller bar in the adjacent storefront.  Aside from those few things, the place looks much the same, but there was one key thing that was missing on the recent Saturday night when a few of us visited this place: People!

We arrived at around 10 p.m. when this place would've normally been full of patrons, with people pouring out into the lot in front when it was Matty's.  When we arrived on this night, there were maybe 5 or 6 others at the bar, 1/2 dozen seated at tables out front and a few at the other side bars. Meanwhile, Alibi and Village Pub up the street were both packed.

Also gone from Rumors were the attractive staff that once served Matty's customers, as were all the signs that once advertised the great drink specials that they had posted when this place was Matty's ($1 beers and well drinks on certain nights, etc.).  What we did notice was a pungent smell that was reminiscent of a deli counter that sells cheeses and cold cuts.  It wasn't a pleasant odor and it hit us when we walked in, wasn't something we got accustomed to, and when I went to use the restroom, that odor hit me as soon as I walked back out into the bar area.  That's one of the reasons (along with the fact that this place was dead and there were other bars offering more attractive drink specials on this night) that caused us to finish our drinks and leave within about 15 minutes of our arrival here.

Overall, I'm not sure what happened and why this place lost popularity.  Change of ownership?  People don't like the new name?  Drink specials aren't as attractive as other places on Wilton Drive (Village Pub was offering 2 for 1 beers on this night, no such incentives here at Rumors)?  Is it because there are a few newer places in this area and Matty's/Rumors is now old news?  I don't know the answer, but I can tell you it was a bit sad to see how lifeless this place was compared to a few of the other bars on Wilton Drive on this night, and compared to what this place was like under its former owner(s).   They need to get the magic back somehow, or Rumors may become a faded memory.