Gramps by the Sea coming to the Miami River

Restaurant planned for 341 Northwest River Drive within the 5th Street Marina

Rendering of Gramps by the Sea (Credit: Gramps by the Sea)
Rendering of Gramps by the Sea (Credit: Gramps by the Sea)

A new bar and restaurant, Gramps by the Sea, is coming to the Miami River.

The sequel to the popular Wynwood bar Gramps won the unanimous consent of the Miami River Commission on Monday. The proposed design for the two-story, 100-seat bar and restaurant at 341 Northwest South River Drive will now be reviewed by the city’s planning and zoning department.

It’s planned for the eastern side of the 5th Street Marina.

Gramps by the Sea will look very different from the box-like Gramps that now operates at 176 Northwest 24th Street.

The design for Gramps by the Sea, created by Opa-locka-based itecdesign, is meant to match the industrial character of the Miami River. “Steel columns with a concrete roof deck provide a similar look to a working boat house,” Orin Black, the 5th Street Marina’s general manager, described in a letter to the Miami River Commission. Steel panels along the façade are intended to provide a weathered steel look of ships or containers.

Gramps by the Sea will be operated by Adam Gersten, who opened Gramps in Wynwood in 2012. That bar features live music acts, a full liquor bar, pizza, and meals from a food truck parked in front.

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Gramps by the Sea will be more full-service, Gersten said, comparing the future restaurant’s menu as being between that of the Florida restaurant chain Flannigan’s and Shuckers in North Bay Village. In a letter to the MRC, Black said the menu will include “some raw bar items, fish sandwiches, burgers, all provided at reasonable prices.”

Like the Wynwood location, Gramps by the Sea will have a full-liquor bar and an outdoor beer garden.

Carlos Salas, president of the Spring Garden Homeowners Association, said he and his neighbors are concerned about noise. Sound travels easily on the water. “All that music echoes,” he said.

However, Salas said his concerns were alleviated after Gersten met with Spring Garden residents. “He is very willing to be a good neighbor in regards to noise,” Salas said

Last month, Black vowed to the MRC’s Infill and Greenways Subcommittee that music at Gramps by the Sea would cease by 11 p.m. During the MRC meeting, Black and Gersten also vowed to prevent cars from being parked on the public riverwalk.

Gersten told The Real Deal he isn’t sure when construction work will begin on the new Miami River restaurant. He said he may have a “vague timeline” by January.