Grab a ‘Mamacita’ Spicy Margarita at Westport bar’s ‘Love Island’ watch party
Laney’s Get Down got an unexpected request to host a watch party for Love Island. In less than a week, they made it happen and it turned out even better than expected.
The 70s-themed bar and restaurant, located in Westport at 4057 Pennsylvania Ave, hosted the first watch party this Tuesday and plans to host them weekly at 8 p.m.
Love Island season 7 has been trending on social media since its first episode aired on Peacock on June 3. The show brings a group of contestants to a remote island to find love. This season, Ace Green, Chelley Bissainthe, Huda Mustafa, and more are competing to win $100,000. Filled with challenges and games, the way to win is by having the best couple to avoid being voted off the island.
“Whenever you’re at home watching it, you run to social media to catch other people’s reactions,” said McCrorey. “It’s really fun to see how you can live-react with other people to what’s going on.”
The watch party gave people a space to make a community.
“I just want to see more events like that where people can just come together and have something in common,” said McCrorey.
Same concept, different crowd
Laney’s Get Down, owned by Tin Roof, a live music venue and bar chain with 19 locations nationally. The chain has hosted watch parties like this in its Nashville and St. Louis locations.
“They filled out their Tin Roof locations like wall-to-wall with these events, with the watch parties. So I’m hoping that we can do something like that,” said Andrea McCrorey, the general manager of Laney’s Get Down.
The bar has hosted watch parties for the Super Bowl, NBA finals and other sports events, but reality TV is a first.
“I think it’s very similar. It’s just a different crowd,” she said. “It’s a way that people distract themselves from, you know, other things in the world, whatever they have going on. It’s something in common that everyone can come together and enjoy.”
One difference between streaming sports versus reality TV is the creativity she can have when making specialized drinks for the event.
The “Mamacita” Spicy Marg, the Soul Ties Sangria and the Making Moves Mojito are just some of the fun drinks McCrorey created for the night.
“Something like this is a lot more fun and silly,” she said.
The diverse bartenders, servers and staff were excited to do something new and pull in a new crowd.
“I want them to, you know, hopefully make some regulars that come back even for other visits that aren’t for a Love Island watch party,” said McCrorey. “I am also excited to see new faces walk in the door and appeal to some new people; have them try some of our food, try some of our cocktails, see what we have to offer.”
McCrorey was hoping for a big, varied crowd, and people did not disappoint.
“The only unexpected thing was just how many people did come out,” said McCrorey. “We filled out every seat inside the building as well as a few tables outside.”
An unexpected proposition
The idea was entirely Sydnee Parrott’s. She moved to Kansas City in February and was looking for a way to meet new people.
“Just starting from a common ground of liking a reality show, I can just see it blossoming into more,” she said.
Originally from Iowa, she moved from Phoenix, AZ, back to the Midwest. She loves watching Love Island and said she spends most of every episode texting her friends about the unfolding events.
“I just really thought it would be great to have a community and, you know, get all the girls together and watch it once a week or twice a week,” said Parrott.
Laney’s Get Down took the idea and hit the ground running, preparing for it less than a week in advance, said McCrorey.
“I wasn’t sure if it would fit our vibe, what we’re doing, but she wanted it. She thought it was a good idea,” she said.
She thought Parrott was well organized and prepared, already having a Facebook group with around 50 members interested in making the event happen, said McCrorey.
Parrott thought Wesport would be the perfect location to bring people together, and Laney’s Get Down was the only bar to answer, she said.
“In my head, I’m always like, you know, guys get to go watch sports games at the bar. What do the girls get to do? So this was my idea of ‘let’s get the girls out doing something,’” said Parrott.
Towards the end of the episode, everyone was screaming, jumping up and down, reacting to the drama, she said. She enjoyed seeing everyone smiling at the TV, talking to their friends and making new friends.
“I saw a bunch of girls that came by themselves and they just walked up to a group and asked if they could join,” said Parrott. “It was really nice to see that someone felt comfortable enough to come by themselves because they knew they were going to make a friend or two.”
In the future...
Laney’s had the perfect amount of space, but if the turnout next week is bigger, which McCrorey thinks it will be, they may need more tables, said Parrott.
For the next event, patrons can look forward to more interactive elements for the night, like a giveaway, raffle or game.
When Love Island’s season is over, Laney’s Get Down hopes to do more reality TV events.
This story was originally published June 26, 2025 at 10:40 AM.
