The Citadel food hall in Little Haiti ramps up for 2017 opening, announces new tenants

Rendering of the Citadel
Rendering of the Citadel

One of Miami’s first food halls will open this winter with newly announced tenants. 

The Citadel, a 62,000-square-foot mixed-use building at 8300 Northeast Second Avenue, just signed leases with Stanzione 87, Bianco Gelato and Smashing Avo’s. Developers Thomas Conway and Nicholas Hamann said the food hall will take up about one-third of the building, with the rest going to Entercom Communications Corp.

Once it’s turned over to tenants in the early fall, the food hall will have up to 22 food and beverage tenants ranging from 100 square feet to 400 square feet, Hamann said. Stanzione, a Neapolitan-style pizzeria, is based in Brickell, Bianco Gelato has a location in Coconut Grove, and Smashing Avo’s is a new concept from the owners of Threefold Cafe in Coral Gables. The latter will have up to 10 kinds of avocado toast, according to a press release.

The food hall will be on the first floor of the Citadel, a space that will also have retail, with Entercom on the second floor and a bar/space for events on the rooftop.

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Conway and Hamann opened MADE at the Citadel, a co-working space, across the street about two years ago. It’s one of the first new projects in Little Haiti, where a number of large-scale, mixed-use developments have been proposed in recent months, including the Eastridge special area plan that would take over 22 acres, a proposal to redevelop Archbishop Curley-Notre Dame High School, and the $1 billion Magic City project.

Entercom, one of the country’s biggest radio broadcasting companies, will be moving from Miami Gardens to Little Haiti when the Citadel opens. Property records show Hamann’s Uptown Miami 8300 LLC paid $2.7 million for the building in 2014. It was built in 1951 and is being gut-renovated. The developers declined to say how much they invested in the Citadel, but previously said they spent about $1 million on MADE across the street.

Conway and Hamann expect their food hall to be the first to open in Miami, behind Brickell City Centre’s La Centrale, a three-story, 38,000-square-foot Italian food hall, which will have one operator. La Centrale will feature restaurants, an enoteca (wine store), cooking school and retail space when it opens during the fall of this year. Two others are planned for Miami Beach, Time Out Market and the Lincoln Eatery.

The Miami New Times first reported the Citadel’s new tenants.