The people who made Mary Lou's one of West Palm Beach's buzziest nights out are about to triple their footprint in town. Mama Hospitality is opening Lillys, a three-part rooftop of pool, bar and restaurant on top of The Nora Hotel, and in December, Macs 44, an 80-seat room on North Railroad Avenue built around a live show every night, according to the group's announcement.

Lillys: a rooftop in three parts

Lillys takes over the roof of The Nora Hotel in the Nora District, just north of downtown. It is really three places in one. Lillys Pool handles the daytime, with food and drink served poolside to hotel guests. Bar Lilly is the aperitif lounge, built for cocktails at sunset. Cafe Lilly is the sit-down restaurant and the heart of the rooftop.

The food has serious backing. Mama Hospitality is doing Lillys with Starr Restaurants, Stephen Starr's restaurant group. The plan calls for live music, poolside DJ sets and a calendar of events touching fashion, art and culture, which is very much the Mary Lou's playbook moved outdoors and up a few floors.

Timing is the one soft spot. The announcement says November in one place and later this month in another, so the safe read is that Lillys opens before the holidays. Watch the hotel and the group for a firm date.

Macs 44: a show, then another show

The bigger swing is Macs 44, planned for December at 825 North Railroad Avenue in the Nora District. It is a 3,600-square-foot room with 80 seats, and the group is calling it a social salon built on performance: programmed shows every night that mix live music, singers, choreography and theatrical touches, changing as the night goes on. Hours are set for Tuesday through Sunday, 6 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Food is deliberately small. The menu runs to five or six items, among them caviar service, small raw plates, upscale bar snacks and late-night classics. Drinks are the main event, and regulars will be able to keep their own bottles on site in private bottle lockers, the kind of perk that builds a crowd that comes back every week. Alex Melillo designed the room with Jason Volenec of Volenec Studios.

Who Mac was

Like Mary Lou's, the new room is named for a real person. Mac is Michael McEvoy, known in the family as Mr. Mac, the grandfather of Topher and Dottie Grubb. He grew up in Mobile, Alabama, ran Sea-Land and R.J. Reynolds Industries, and on the side was a trained opera singer and a celebrated host. A late-night room where somebody might break into song is a fitting tribute.

The group behind it

Mama Hospitality was founded by Alex Melillo, Joe Cervasio and Topher Grubb. Mary Lou's, their supper club, is the West Palm Beach room where DJs, artists and performers work the floor for a few hundred guests a night, and it has spun off seasonal residencies in Miami and pop-ups at events like Art Basel and Formula 1. Going from one venue to three in the same city is a bet that the crowd Mary Lou's built will follow it a few blocks north.

What it means for the Nora District

A rooftop with Starr Restaurants on the menu and a nightly show room around the corner are exactly the kind of evening draws that turn a district into a destination. If you live in West Palm Beach, plan on a sunset drink at Bar Lilly this season and a late night at Macs 44 after the new year, and expect both to be busy.