Miami Beach commissioners rescind Nikki Beach Club no-bid deal

Miami Beach elected officials killed their previously approved plan to negotiate a new no-bid deal for Nikki Beach Club, an oceanfront commercial property owned by the city. 

The city commission voted 6-0 on Wednesday to rescind their April 28 vote in favor of city staff negotiating a non-binding letter of intent with beach concessionaire company Boucher Brothers. The firm would be taking over the restaurant and entertainment venue at 1 Ocean Drive when the current operator’s lease expires in 2026. 

Instead, the city will pursue a competitive bidding process requiring staff to put out a request for proposals by June 15, according to a resolution sponsored by commissioner David Richardson. Bidders will have until Aug. 15 to submit proposals for the 30-year lease that will be up for grabs. 

The current operator, an entity managed by Jack and Lucia Penrod, sued the city of Miami Beach and Boucher Brothers last week to nullify the letter of intent and block the city commission’s vote to commence a competitive bid process. The Penrods’ motion for a preliminary injunction to prevent the resolution from taking effect has not been scheduled for a hearing, court records show.

The complaint alleges city elected officials and the principals of Boucher Brothers violated Miami Beach laws governing competitive bidding and illegal lobbying. 

Nikki Beach Club is in the burgeoning South of Fifth neighborhood where New York-based Major Food Group operates the Italian restaurant Carbone, and where the company is also planning an Israeli restaurant concept nearby. Boucher Brothers had enlisted Major Food Group to develop a new concept for the Nikki Beach property, according to published reports. 

However, the effort led by Richardson and his colleague, Miami Beach commissioner Ricky Arriola, to have the city only work with Boucher Brothers to cut a deal when the Penrod lease expires in three years touched off a firestorm of outrage among residents.