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KYU founders plan new restaurant in Wynwood Norte 

5K sf restaurant will rise across from massive Wynwood Plaza development

KYU Founders Plan New Wynwood Restaurant
Chef Michael Lewis with rendering of new concept planned for 55 Northwest 30th Street (Esrawe Studio)

The founders of the popular Wynwood restaurant KYU filed plans for a new ground-up restaurant in Wynwood Norte, The Real Deal has learned. 

Chef and restaurateur Michael Lewis, Steven Haigh and Lizzy Maynes of Scotch Bacon Group are working on plans for the 5,000-square-foot, 120-seat restaurant at 55 Northwest 30th Street, just west of Midtown Miami, Lewis said. Saladino Design Studios is designing the restaurant, which will have two bars, outdoor seating in the landscaped outdoor gardens, and a wood-fired smoker. 

The trio sold KYU to new owners in 2020, and KYU, which closed in late 2022, recently reopened in Wynwood. 

The new concept, which Lewis declined to name, could open early next year. The restaurant group is partnering with the property owner to develop the project, Lewis said. A company managed by Desiree Rodriguez owns the 0.3-acre property, which is currently home to a single-family house, records show. The company paid $1.3 million for the property in 2019. 

Felix Bendersky of F+B Hospitality Brokerage arranged the deal, Lewis said. 

It marks the restaurateur’s first ground-up construction project. 

KYU Founders Plan New Wynwood Restaurant
(Esrawe Studio)

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“I’ve had this idea in my head of an elevated version of KYU, slightly more refined… utilizing all the things that Florida has to offer,” Lewis said. He and his partners had been looking for a site since they sold KYU. 

“There are quite a few second generation spaces out there, but I couldn’t find anything that was right, and the rent structure was honestly prohibitive,” he added. 

The site is across the street from L&L Holding Company, Oak Row Equities and Shorenstein Properties’ planned Wynwood Plaza. The 1-million-square-foot office, apartment and retail project at 95 Northwest 29th Street is under construction. Bank OZK provided the developers with a $215 million construction loan last year. 

The restaurant site is also near the Gateway at Wynwood, a recently completed office building developed by New York-based R&B Realty, which was hit with a foreclosure lawsuit last month. 

A number of developers have announced plans for projects in Wynwood Norte, the neighborhood just north of the Wynwood Arts District. The area was subject to a zoning overhaul in 2021 designed to attract workforce housing development. 

Last year, Property Markets Group and Lndmrk Development paid $20 million for the site of a planned condo development at 112-138 Northwest 30th Street and 119-137 Northwest 29th Street.

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Miami-Dade CountyRestaurantsWynwoodWynwood Norte