Motek Opening 1st Broward Restaurant at W Fort Lauderdale

Happy Corner Hospitality, the group behind the Mediterranean-Israeli eatery Motek, will make its Broward County debut later this year, The Real Deal has learned.

Motek signed a lease for 12,000 square feet at the oceanfront W Fort Lauderdale at 401 North Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard. The restaurant will take over Stephen Starr’s El Vez space.

The restaurant, with seating for 315, will mark Motek’s 10th South Florida location, adding to a lineup of restaurants stretching from Boca Raton to Coral Gables. It’s scheduled to open in November.

Founded by Charlie Levy, Happy Corner Hospitality launched the first Motek in downtown Miami in 2020. The concept has since become one of South Florida’s fastest-growing restaurant brands, serving Eastern Mediterranean cuisine with a “kosher-style” menu.

Motek joins a growing roster of restaurant and café brands rapidly expanding over the past few years across South Florida and into other states, including Mister O1 Extraordinary Pizza, Pura Vida, Maman and Crema Gourmet.

Motek’s expected opening at the W Fort Lauderdale comes two years after a change in ownership at the property. After holding the hotel for more than a decade, Steve Ross’ Related Companies sold the hotel portion of the 346-key oceanfront resort for $97.7 million to an affiliate of New York-based Blackstone.

Completed in 2010, the W Fort Lauderdale consists of two 23-story towers with 346 hotel rooms and 171 condominium units. Related Fund Management acquired the hotel in 2014 for $90 million and later completed a $55 million renovation before rebranding it under the W flag.

Related tested the market in 2018, listing the hotel for $275 million the same year it refinanced the property with a $140 million loan.

The purchase added to Blackstone’s growing South Florida hotel portfolio. Last year, the investment giant acquired the East Miami hotel in Brickell for nearly $300 million.