SLS South Beach, Rosetta Bakery, Zuma, Miller’s Ale House lay off 871

UPDATED, April 28, 10:47 a.m.: One of South Beach’s most well-known hotels, a popular bakery, a Japanese restaurant and a sports bar chain laid off a total of 871 employees in South Florida.

Sam Nazarian’s SLS South Beach furloughed 340 employees as hotels across South Florida have been forced to shut down due to the impacts of coronavirus, according to a WARN notice filed with the state. The 140-room hotel at 1701 Collins Avenue in Miami Beach is closed until May 1, according to its website. A spokesperson for SLS South Beach said the hotel intends on rehiring all the employees once the hotel re-opens for business.

Rosetta Bakery, with locations in Aventura and two locations in Miami Beach, also announced that it laid off 184 people, according to WARN notices.

Zuma Japanese Restaurant at 270 Biscayne Boulevard in downtown Miami laid off 115 people. The restaurant closed down, according to a WARN Notice.

Miller’s Ale House, a sports bar chain, laid off hundreds of employees across Florida, including 232 people in South Florida, according to WARN notices. The location at 11625 North Kendall Drive in Miami laid off 66 employees; the location at 3215 Oakwood Boulevard in Hollywood laid off 103 workers; and the location at 2080 South University Drive in Davie laid off 63 employees.

South Florida hotels have been hit hard by coronavirus, as many have been forced to shut down. Earlier this month, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a statewide stay-at-home order, requiring all non-essential businesses to shutter. The order followed previous decisions by individual counties and municipalities, including in some cases, ordering hotels to close.

During the week of April 12-18, Miami hotel occupancy dropped to 20.3 percent, down from 65.6 percent March 8-14, according to the hotel data provider STR. Revenue per available room fell to $20 from $146, during the same time period.

The latest layoffs follow 655 layoffs the state reported last week. JW Marriott Marquis Miami and Boulud Sud in downtown Miami, the JW Marriott Miami on Brickell Avenue, Nobu in Miami Beach, and Miami International Airport restaurants all filed WARN notices with the state.

Two weeks ago, additional WARN notices released revealed that South Beach Hotel Group, led by longtime Miami Beach hotelier Alan Lieberman, laid off over 700 employees at 13 of its 16 boutique Miami Beach hotels, including the Catalina Hotel, the Harding Hotel and the Riviera Loft Hotel.

The hotel industry is also facing over $4 billion in debt payments on commercial mortgage-backed securities loans. The loans are harder to restructure than conventional loans and are more likely to head to foreclosure, according to industry experts.