Scotch & Soda opening in Wynwood

Scotch & Soda, the trendy Amsterdam-based retail chain, will open its first store in Wynwood, as the neighborhood continues to attract high-end shops, The Real Deal has learned.

The store has signed a lease for 2,300 square feet at 2310 Northwest Second Avenue, and will relocate its shop from Miami’s Design District, Irma Figueroa, director of retail leasing and sales for Comras Company, told TRD.

Scotch & Soda will be next to Coyo Taco, in a building Comras Company bought in 2011 for $1.6 million. Other tenants include Kit and Ace, Alter and Freshii.

Figueroa said Scotch & Soda is building out its space and will open in a couple of months. The vacant site was formerly occupied by Fantini Mosaici, a high-end flooring store.

4800 Northeast Second Avenue

Fantini Mosaici relocated to 4800 Northeast Second Avenue in the Design District a few months ago in another deal brokered by Figueroa. She said she was the only broker involved in both leases.

Figueroa declined to disclose the lease terms for either Scotch & Soda or Fantini Mosaici, but said both are “long term deals.”

Scotch & Soda has a total of 25 stores in the United States, including one on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach.

“Its surprises me. Every time I think we’ve topped off and gotten our highest rate, there is another one beating the previous one,” Figueroa told TRD. “There is definitely demand in that market and what I am seeing is better quality retailers coming in.”

Irma Figueroa

Among the high-end shops that have launched stores in artsy Wynwood are Warby Parker, Marine Layer, Illesteva and Shinola, while new dining spots include Wynwood Diner, KYU, Salty Donut and Federal Donuts. Other nearby businesses include Ducati, Panther Coffee, Wynwood Kitchen & Bar, R House, Gravity Brewery and Boxelder Craft Beer Market.

According to a Commercial Industrial Association of South Florida market report released in April, Wynwood ranked among the area’s hottest retail markets in 2015, with $165 million in retail property sales volume and a vacancy rate of 6 percent.

“Wynwood in the future is going to continue to have more restaurants and bars and more dry retail concepts,” Figueroa said. “They are drawn by the foot traffic. There are so many festivals and so many things going on in Wynwood today, it’s really attracting a lot of people.”