Major Food Group to open new restaurant concept at historic Brickell château

Major Food Group plans to open a new Mexican restaurant and private club at a historic Brickell château in Miami that developer Yamal Yidios’ Ytech acquired last year. 

Chateau ZZ’s is expected to open later this month. Major Food Group, led by co-founders Jeff Zalaznick, Mario Carbone and Rich Torrisi, tapped Ken Fulk to restore and design the 6,400-square-foot space at 1500 Brickell Avenue. 

Château Petit Douy, built in 1931 on a 0.4-acre corner lot, was inspired by the Priory of Saint Julien in southern France. Florida architect Martin Hampton designed the building, which was designated historic in 1983. Miami-based Mast Capital sold the property to Ytech by selling the company that owned the real estate for an undisclosed price. 

Major Food Group will have a Mexican restaurant on the first floor, with a solarium, bar and lounge and gardens, according to a press release. The second floor will be a private club for ZZ’s members. ZZ’s Club opened in the Miami Design District in 2021. A second ZZ’s opened in New York last month. 

The Brickell building has been shuttered for years. A previous owner planned to launch a restaurant with chef Clay Conley, according to the Palm Beach Post, but that never opened. Conley is chef/owner of Buccan in Palm Beach and Grato in West Palm Beach.

Major Food Group signed a 20-year lease with two five-year extensions with the previous property owner in Brickell, an agreement that remained in place after the sale of the LLC that owns the real estate. 

A year ago, Brickell-based developer Ytech revealed plans for The Residences at 1428 Brickell, a luxury condo tower nearby that will be partially powered by solar energy. 

Major Food Group has been expanding across South Florida and into new markets. The New York-based restaurant group owns Carbone, Sadelle’s, Dirty French and other concepts. 

In Miami Beach, Major Food Group is working with the hospitality firm Boucher Brothers to take over the Nikki Beach Club site in the city’s South of Fifth neighborhood. In September, the city commission voted in favor of the city negotiating a new 10-year lease with the joint venture to take over the city-owned property at 1 Ocean Drive when the agreement with the current operators, Jack and Lucia Penrod, expires in 2026. The Group, RH (formerly known as Restoration Hardware) and Tao Group Hospitality were also competing for the property. 

In South Florida, Major Food Group will have eight concepts when Chateau ZZ’s opens. The restaurant group opened its first Miami outpost, Carbone in South Beach, in 2021. Earlier this year, it canceled a lease for a Sadelle’s at Crescent Heights’ mixed-use project under construction just west of Lincoln Road. 

Major Food Group is also branding the luxury condo tower called Villa Miami, which Terra and One Thousand Group plan to develop in Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood. The restaurant group was working with developer Michael Stern on a branded condo building in Brickell, but that deal did not move forward. Stern’s JDS is now partnering with Dolce & Gabbana on the tower planned for 888 Brickell Avenue. 

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