The Weekly Dish: Sugarcane chef opening downtown Miami concept & more

Bunbury moved and expanded to Melo Group’s Square Station

Chef Timon Balloo and Felix Bendersky with the Ingraham Building (Credit: Twitter, Facebook and Google Maps)
Chef Timon Balloo and Felix Bendersky with the Ingraham Building (Credit: Twitter, Facebook and Google Maps)

UPDATED, May 23, 1:50 p.m.: 

Balloo and Bar Lab Group | Downtown Miami

Chef Timon Balloo, a chef-partner at Sugarcane Raw Bar Grill, is opening a new concept in downtown Miami called Balloo: Modern Home Cooking. The 800-square-foot restaurant is set to open at the Ingraham Building in downtown Miami this summer.

Bar Lab Group, led by mixologists Gabriel Orta and Elad Zvi, signed a lease for 1,172 square feet at the Ingraham Building, at 25 Southeast Second Avenue, as well. Orta and Zvi, of the Broken Shaker, the Anderson and other popular Miami bars, are still determining what the concept will be, but Orta confirmed that they are considering a wine and amaro bar called Margot Wine Bar.

Orta said he and his partner will be traveling to Prague, Copenhagen and Israel this summer and will finalize the concept after that, “but we do know for sure it’s going to be beer and wine.” It’s expected to open by the end of the year.

Real estate investor Shai Ben-Ami will partner with both tenants on ownership and buildout. Bar Lab Group will also work with Balloo on his restaurant.

Felix Bendersky of F+B Hospitality Brokerage, and Mika Mattingly and Soleil Mershon of Colliers International South Florida represented the landlord, and Ben-Ami represented the tenants.

Bunbury | A&E District

Bunbury Wine Bar is hopping over from Wynwood to Miami’s Arts & Entertainment District.

The wine bar and restaurant closed its original location at 2200 Northeast Second Avenue and opened at the Melo Group’s Square Station, at 1420 Northeast Miami Place. Bunbury is leasing 7,500 square feet of ground floor retail space at Square Station. Unlike its original location, the restaurant is open for breakfast and lunch.

Melo closed on a $142 million refinance of the project in December. The two-tower, 710-unit development was completed about a year ago and is fully leased.

Via Emilia Garden | Midtown Miami

Nonna Beppa Hospitality Group signed a 10-year lease for Via Emilia Garden in Midtown Miami, at 3500 North Miami Avenue.

Claudia Lorenzi, president of Orange Realty Miami, brokered the deal. The restaurant, led by chef Wendy Cacciatori and her wife Valentina Imbrenda, will feature the same menu as its sister location in South Beach. The Midtown space has 2,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space with an open kitchen and Italian market.

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Riverside | Miami Riverfront

Riverside, a new waterfront food hall, is expected to open this summer at 431 South Miami Avenue. The 120,000-square-foot space will have two full-service restaurants: AWA, an Asian concept, and an as-yet unnamed high-end steakhouse. It will also have a Miami River Brewery taproom and fast-casual concepts that include Le Chick, Old Lisbon and Morgan’s.

Salty Donut | South Miami

The Salty Donut is finally opening in South Miami. The popular Wynwood donut shop is leasing 1,300 square feet at 6022 South Dixie Highway, in the former Fox’s Lounge building.

Lndmrk Development and Wynwood Retail Co. are redeveloping the properties at 7435 Southwest 61st Avenue and 6022-6030 South Dixie Highway. Dwntwn Realty Advisors’ Tony Arellano arranged the lease. The asking rent was $65 per square foot, triple net. Salty Donut signed a five-year deal with a five-year extension.

Pompano Beach Fishing Village | Pompano Beach

Pompano Pier Associates has leased its Pompano Beach Fishing Village to: Pompano Beach House, which is open; Oceanic, opening this summer; and Lucky Fish, opening in the fall. Next year, Kilwins, Cannoli Kitchen and BurgerFi are all set to open.

Pompano Beach Associates closed on a $1.7 million loan in 2017 to finance construction of the project, which will include a dual-branded Hilton Hotels property. The developer holds a 50-year ground lease from the city for the site.

Pinstripes | Aventura

Pinstripes is opening a 30,000-square-foot location at the Esplanade at Aventura, which is under construction. It is being developed by Seritage Growth Properties, near Aventura Mall.

The two-story Pinstripes will feature an Italian-American bistro and wine cellar, 12 bowling lanes, indoor and outdoor bocce courts and event space.

Time Out Market | Miami Beach

Time Out Market opened earlier this month in Miami Beach. The over 18,000-square-foot food hall, at 1601 Drexel Avenue, features 18 eateries, including: Coyo Taco, Kush, Bachour, 33 Kitchen, Azucar and Miami Smokers.

Instead of charging rent, Time Out takes a percentage of the chefs’ revenues from sales.