About

For our New Year Resolution in 2008, Len and I made a written agreement…. This became a personal life goal list that each of us committed to and signed our written document dated January 16th, 2008. Well, number seven of that agreement was to open our own restaurant by October of 2008. We did “one up” on that. We not only followed through on our resolution, we exceeded it, by opening Better Than SexTM on May 20th, 2008 here in Key West Florida.

So, since that year we have learned, that lists do work, agreements can work, if you believe it, you can and will make it happen. Seeing your goals on paper, and having a partner that holds you accountable is also inspiration in itself. From this day forward we chose to “Live the Dream” and go for it!

The dream began in 2003 …. And it all started with Len exclaiming to his new wife…. “I want dessert.” Four hours later, after hearing “Where’s my dessert?” a million times, Dani brought out a fully decorated 2 layer Oreo Cream Cake for her new Hubby. Len Pronounced, “ ‘Wow’, if you can do this what else can you do.” Never letting go of a challenge, Dani took him up on the offer and began baking her little heart out at home (after all she had her own tasting panel…), recording all of her recipes, saving the receipts, taking photos of everything etc. Not knowing for the first three years why she was doing this, but something inside said she should. Then in 2006 Len and Dani threw a Valentines day dessert party at their house and rolled out the “Dessert Menu” for the Restaurant to all of their friends who attended. None of them knew anything about the Dream. Len and Dani wanted completely unbiased reactions. Overwhelmingly they responded… “You should do this for a living”. This is exactly what husband and wife team, Dani & Len had intended to do and their friends were the Guinea pigs!

In the meantime, the couple had already chosen their location in 2002 when they first arrived in Key West. “We actually looked at the space, but had no idea what we wanted to do at the time. So, we just had to wait for the spot to become available,” said Dani. Len would repeatedly drive by 411 Petronia Street to check on the status of the existing businesses there…. And the day he saw the doors were closed, he was “on it”. He jumped on the opportunity, although our business plan was not fully complete and our minds were focused on an October opening, we knew this had to happen now. The perfect location was there for the taking. A quiet little lane just off of the bustling Duval street in the center of Key West.

We went to work immediately, painting, decorating etc. etc. One of biggest challenges was convincing the city to allow us to paint the outside of the building red…. In a Historic District…. With no other Red building in the entire city. WE WON! We convinced the board to let us do it… (of course the double chocolate chip cookies might have helped!).
We hope that all of you will come and visit us soon, and see our dream in action. The concept is like no other. We are an after dinner experience, an extension to your evening, an alternative to bar hopping on Duval Street. We have a full-service, sit down dining room, and bar and lounge area. The décor is old world, eclectic, with textured fabrics in reds and golds. Chandeliers and candlelight offer the dim, and very romantic atmosphere. The music is a master compilation by Len of everything that makes you feel good from jazz, blues, and the Big Band era. A brilliant combination that makes our guests smile and reminisce.

Love,

Dani & Len