Beaker & Gray, a new restaurant and cocktail bar headed for Wynwood, is gearing up to open its doors on September 1.
The concept is simple, as chef and co-owner Brian Nasajon told The Real Deal: it’s a marriage between a high quality cocktail bar and a 120-seat eatery that focuses on small plates.
Prices for a drink will range from $10 to $13, and the small plates will run between $12 to $16. He said the food will be an eclectic mix of cultures — Nasajon’s one hint was a shrimp and chorizo churro with charcoal aioli — and the plates will be meant for sharing.
All of this will be housed in 3,600 square feet of dining space, located at 2637 North Miami Avenue. The interior, which is “98 percent completed,” will be split between traditional seating and a 500-square-foot lounge area for the bar. Outside, the 500-square-foot terrace will have 12 seats, along with an area to order drinks after hours. Those hours will stretch until 2 a.m. or 3 a.m., Nasajon told TRD, because Wynwood has a distinct lack of places to drop in for a quality cocktail, especially in the wee hours of the morning.
Nasajon is the former executive chef for Sushi Samba in Coral Gables. He will be heading the kitchen for Beaker & Gray, and said that the restaurant is owned by his father, Tony Nasajon, and him. They have partnered with Brian’s high school friend and bartender Ben Potts, who will handle the beverage department. Potts describes his career as a “spirits practitioner” on his LinkedIn page. He has held positions at the Purdy Lounge in Miami Beach and the Blackbird Ordinary in Brickell.
Though Nasajon didn’t want to discuss specifics about the restaurant’s lease, he told TRD that it’s for a period of 10 years with the option to extend another five.
“We’re hoping to be here for the next 15 years,” he said.
The building that Beaker & Gray occupies was part of a land sale valued at $13 million that took place last month. The seller, New York developer David Edelstein, traded the land to a joint venture between Vitality Holdings and Cabi Developers. That transaction included two buildings, both built between 1920 and 1950, along with three quarters of an acre along North Miami Avenue.