Just like Santa's elves, the team at Pamplona in Lafayette transforms the tapas restaurant into a glimmering space full of ornaments, decorations, ribbons and one iconic leg lamp.
"More is better," front-of-house manager Philippe Callais said of the decorations. "You want it to look like the grandmas who really loved Christmas in the 80s."
For five years, Miracle at Pamplona has returned with specialty cocktails and kitschy décor to spread holiday cheer in Lafayette, while also donating money to local charities and nonprofits.
Neon signage and painted windows are seen as Miracle at Pamplona pop-up bar returns for the Holiday Season on Thursday, November 30, 2023, at Pamplona Tapas Bar in downtown Lafayette.
On the Sunday before Thanksgiving, the Pamplona staff gathers to decorate for four days before everyone is off for Turkey Day, general manager Andrew Payne said. Then, Miracle at Pamplona opens on Black Friday.
Every year, the staff pushes the envelope on how many decorations they can fit in the almost 4,000-square-foot restaurant.
There's an 11-foot Christmas tree in the front, ornaments hanging from the ceiling, ribbon and lights galore, a Christmas village and a gingerbread house with white frosting and fake gumdrops. Payne says there's decorations pretty much everywhere you look.
"It looks," he paused. "I don't know how to describe it. It's intense."
There's an 11-foot Christmas tree in the front of Pamplona, ornaments hanging from the ceiling, ribbon and lights galore, a Christmas village and a gingerbread house with white frosting and fake gum drops. Andrew Payne says there's decorations pretty much everywhere you look.
When Payne says intense, he means that there's no area in the restaurant that isn't sparkling, glowing or tinsel-ing.
Reviving Christmas magic
While the Christmas-themed pop-up cocktail bar is known in Lafayette, Miracle is an international concept with locations in California, Georgia, New York, Canada, England and more. The idea was born in 2014 when Greg Boehm halted construction on his East Village cocktail bar, Mace. He wrapped the walls in festive wrapping paper and transformed the unfinished space into a pop-up bar with holiday drinks and over-the-top decorations.
The event was so successful that he decided to do it again and expand to other cities.
Callais and another Pamplona employee trained at a Miracle Bar in New York and brought the concept to Lafayette. To prepare for the first year, Callais said he spent almost every Sunday at an estate sale to buy decorations.
Christmas decorations fill the shelves as Miracle at Pamplona pop-up bar returns for the Holiday Season on Thursday, November 30, 2023, at Pamplona Tapas Bar in downtown Lafayette.
"I was trying to track down things that were actually in Lafayette's grandmothers' houses in the '80s and then make it something nostalgic," he said.
He says the first thing he bought was the "A Christmas Story"-inspired leg lamp.
These days, many people in Lafayette, as well as Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Alexandria, make it a tradition to visit the pop-up bar. Payne says the event is part of people's routine around the holidays, and on average the Pamplona Miracle Bar hosts around 250-300 people a night.
To reserve a date and time to visit the Miracle Bar, Pamplona charges a $3 booking fee per person, which is then donated to local charities and nonprofits. In the past, they've donated to Moncus Park, Downtown Lafayette Unlimited, SWLA Juneteenth Committee, Acadiana Center for the Arts, Festival International, Cite des Arts, Acadiana Queer Collective, and more. This year, Pamplona has collected donations for over a dozen local charities.
"More is better," front-of-house manager Philippe Callais said of the decorations at Pamplona. "You want it to look like the grandmas who really loved Christmas in the 80s."
According to Corinne Sprague, development manager at the Acadiana Center for the Arts, support from Miracle at Pamplona and other partners helps them serve around 38,000 students through their arts education programming.
"We've expanded to three parishes now," says Sprague. "Now we're in the Lafayette, St. Landry and Vermilion Parish school systems working with students to expand their arts education."
Payne loves being able to offer an experience outside of the norm — such as an opportunity to go out to dinner wearing Santa hats, ugly Christmas sweaters or even gaudy pajamas.
Guests are seated below Christmas-themed decorations as Miracle at Pamplona pop-up bar returns for the Holiday Season on Thursday, November 30, 2023, at Pamplona Tapas Bar in downtown Lafayette.
"It gives everyone a reason to come out and celebrate the season," he says.
During the holidays, Callais wants Miracle at Pamplona to revive the magic of Christmas for adults that was once experienced as a kid.
"Christmas, when you’re a kid, is one thing," he said. "When you’re an adult and you don’t live near your family or have children, it just becomes that monotonous thing you have to do. We wanted to create something that was for my demographic that makes Christmas fun again for an adult."
