Tropical Distillers, a liqueur manufacturer, has opened Miami’s first distillery. A fully automated distillery with an on-site cannery, a 30-seat bar, and tasting room, and a gift shop with items only available at the distillery are all included in the area.
The facility creates JF Haden’s Craft Liqueurs line, which includes flavors including mango, lemon, and coffee. Also being developed are several additional goods.
Buzzy Sklar, the CEO and founding brand partner of Tropical Distillers, together with Mike and Maurkice Pouncey, two former NFL players, and real estate agent Kim Rodstein are partners in the distillery.
According to Sklar, “doesn’t fit any mold; we are one-of-a-kind in Miami, offering locals and visitors alike a unique beverage destination that is not only entertaining and aesthetically pleasing, but also informative.”
Visitors will be able to sample cocktails including the Cafecito Martini, Floridian Martini, and a variety of frozen drinks on Fridays and Saturdays from 5 pm until midnight.
A 1,500-square-foot outside deck at Tropical Distillers offers more seats and access to nearby food trucks. The neighborhood of Allapattah’s 8,000-square-foot location was scheduled to debut in December 2021 but was held back.
From Thursday through Sunday, at 1 pm, 3 pm, and 5 pm, there are guided tours available for $25. The event includes pick-ups from places in Miami and tastings of five different concoctions.
Coco Miami Plan to Open its First Florida Location
On January 11, Coco Miami will open its first location in South Florida in the city’s Design District. The 156 seats in Coco’s 2,800 square-foot dining room, which is located at 8 N.E. 41st St., will be staffed by 60 people.
General Manager Richard Contell and Executive Chef Jose Diaz, who received training from Michelin-starred chefs and has a passion for both European and American cuisine, will be in charge.
Because “quality dining and vibe dining” have been increasingly popular over the past few years, the restaurant, which combines fine dining with nightly entertainment, chose Miami for its first South Florida location.
Every night, there will be entertainment at Coco Miami, including dancers, DJs, singers, and live bands. Individual controls located in specified seating locations will allow customers to enjoy the restaurant’s sound system at their preferred volume level while they are eating.
With the help of fresh, regionally produced products, its menu will highlight European traditions. Crudos, pastas, meats, and shareables including seasonal oysters and accessories with chipotle mignonette, ginger-lime relish, and cocktail sauce; Pomme de Terre Millefeuille, thin layers of sliced potatoes with dill crème fraîche and caviar; and a selection of Oscietra caviar are also on the main menu.
Mademoiselle Coco, a cocktail made by hand with Yuzuri Yuzu Liqueur, Shiso-infused Gin, Dragon Fruit, Pineapple Syrup, Lemon, and Sparkling Wine; Alter Ego Margarita, a concoction of Don Julio Reposado, Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueur, Thai Chili, Tangerine Syrup, and Lime; and Coco Martini, a concoction of Ketel One, sweet vermouth, and cream of coconut.
Every Wednesday through Saturday from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m., Coco Miami will be open.
Japanese Restaurant, Makoto in Miami Beach Named Top 100 Restaurants in the Country
Makoto, a modern, upscale Japanese restaurant in Bal Harbour Shops, was the only restaurant from Miami-Dade County to make OpenTable’s annual Top 100 Restaurants list. Makoto Okuwa, the restaurant’s chef and partner, leads the restaurant, which opened in 2011, and serves sushi and robata dishes that is cuisine cooked on a fire grill.
Makoto relocated to the third floor of the luxury outdoor mall earlier this year and was updated by international designer India Mahdavi. The space now has indoor and outdoor seating for 244 people, as well as a new terrace and sushi counter. The restaurant’s ownership group’s Stephen Starr responded to the news by praising the Makoto staff.
According to Starr, “The team at Makoto has demonstrated excellence in hospitality from the beginning, and it’s great to have those efforts recognized by our patrons. To be named as one of the top 100 restaurants in the country is an exciting honor and a reflection of our incredible, dedicated staff members.”
With ten restaurants each, Florida and Nevada tied. Fort Lauderdale had two favorites on the list, Louie Bossi Ristorante and Takato, while Tampa had three. To compile the list, OpenTable analyzed more than 13 million verified reviews from 47 cities in 21 states. Only those who book through OpenTable and dine there can leave reviews.
MAKOTO is located at Bal Harbour Shops at 9700 Collins Ave. in Miami Beach.
Miami International Auto Show Returns to Miami October 15-23, 2022
One of the biggest car shows in the country, the Miami International Auto Show, has revealed the dates for its nine-day event this year: October 15–23, 2022 at the Miami Beach Convention Center.
At this year’s auto show, more than 500 of the best cars, trucks, SUVs, and motorcycles will be on display. Over 700,000 guests from all over the world are anticipated for this year’s event.
The South Florida Automobile Dealers Association has been the show’s sponsor since it debuted in 1971. Over the course of its 50-year run, the program has donated over $7 million to regional causes, with the most recent $400,000 going to a longtime partner, the Ronald McDonald House.
The past event included around 300,000 people in attendance, in addition to automakers, historic vehicle groups, and automotive enthusiasts from around the world. Acura, Alfa Romeo, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Genesis, Honda, Hyundai, Jeep, Kia, Lexus, Nissan, Ram, Subaru, Toyota, and Volkswagon are among the exhibitors this year.
The convention center offers $30 for a limited amount of valet parking, which is accessible on a first come, first served basis. Across 17th St. is a municipal garage that charges $2 per hour with a $20 daily maximum. You can view a complete map of convention center parking before you arrive through the shows website. Miami Beach also offers additional public lots and garages close by.
The thrills happen at the Miami Beach Convention Center from October 15–23, 2022. Children under 12 are admitted for $6; adults must pay $15.
Robert Rivani’s Black Lion Buys Retail Space at One Thousand Museum
Los Angeles-based investor Robert Rivani’s Black Lion paid $6.4 million for the ground-floor 6,500 square foot retail space inside the One Thousand Museum in Downtown Miami.
This week, the all-cash deal was completed. Black Lion intends to lease the area to a reputable hospitality company, but talks have not yet started, according to a firm representative.
Rivani stated, “One Thousand Museum is one of the most iconic and architecturally significant buildings in all of Miami. I knew we had to have a piece of it.”
The most recent purchase represents the investor’s tenth in South Florida during the previous two years, which also included a number of prestigious retail buildings.
Black Lion paid $13.5 million for the ground-floor retail space of the SLS LUX Brickell condo project last year. This space is now occupied by the popular Gekko steakhouse, a Bad Bunny and Grutman collaboration.
Additionally, the real estate investor spent $11.5 million and $19 million for retail condos in Miami Beach’s South of Fifth district. The company also owns the space that the popular upscale restaurant The Amara at Paraiso leases in Edgewater.
The 84-unit condominium was finished in 2019 by the developers of One Thousand Museum, a partnership made up of Louis Birdman, Gilberto Bomeny, Kevin Venger, Gregg Covin, and Todd Michael Glaser. They also sold the retail space to Black Lion.
New Research Shows Miami is on the Way to Being the Next Silicon Valley
According to recent research from Moody’s Analytics, a division of New York-based Moody’s Corporation, the expansion of Miami-Dade County’s finance and technology sectors significantly boosted the region’s office market throughout the pandemic leaving the potential for Miami to replace Silicon Valley.
Miami has the potential to develop into a prosperous tech center, according to Lu Chen, a senior economist at Moody’s and co-author of “The Growing Power of Tech on Miami’s Commercial Real Estate Market.”
Fintech companies have found The Magic City to be the most alluring. According to the survey, businesses from New York are increasingly choosing to relocate to Miami due to high taxes, building/office costs, as well as housing.
For instance, the report stated that the fintech business FundKite moved its headquarters from New York to Miami “because it has become a solid hub for the financial industry and has a lot of good expertise and manpower accessible.”
This continued pattern has allowed the office landlords in Miami-Dade County to raise rent demands faster than the national average, including in San Francisco, California.
According to the survey, incomes for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) workers in South Florida have not increased as much as asking rents in Miami-Dade.
The average salary for STEM workers nationwide increased by 6.8% in 2021 compared to the previous year. San Francisco saw a 1.9% increase in STEM earnings. Their increase in South Florida was only 0.9%.
As of August 13, the typical STEM job nationwide paid $53,428 per year. STEM jobs in Florida typically pay $40,081 a year. In California, STEM salaries pay an average of $48,899 annually.
In contrast to the San Francisco Bay area and other well-established technology centers, South Florida has a very small proportion of the total number of tech jobs.
According to Chen, only 3% of jobs in South Florida are in the high-tech sector, compared to 23.5% in the San Francisco area.
Other challenges for Miami’s expanding technology sector, according to Moody’s, include the impact of climate change, South Florida’s transportation infrastructure, the underrepresentation of minorities in higher-level positions, and concerns about educational standards.
The San Francisco Bay area has significantly more prestigious universities that develop technology talent, according to the study on education. The report states that “Miami must attract more students interested in tech.”
However, the survey noted that there is cause for hope because there are regional initiatives like Computer Equity Miami that seek to increase accessibility to tech education for all of its citizens. Miami’s advantages also include a high concentration of banks and businesspeople.
South Florida ranks sixth in the nation for the proportion of all U.S. entrepreneurs. Moody’s attributed this ranking to the region’s 150 banks and 500,000 accredited investors, which offer a variety of choices for raising financing.
Miami is attracting a lot of interest from bitcoin businesses as a result of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and other local leaders placing significant bets on the technology.
Suarez’s efforts to establish Miami as a crypto hub, according to David Caputo, a commercial real estate data quality analyst for Moody’s, have aided in luring crypto businesses to that city, including Blockchain.com, which has reportedly facilitated more than $1 trillion in crypto transactions since its establishment in 2011.
According to Moody’s research, the future of cryptocurrencies may very well determine Miami’s status as a global tech hub. Although the value of cryptocurrencies has fallen recently, the report’s co-author Caputo claimed there isn’t much of a negative for Miami.
Spinning Pan Am Globe Installed at Miami “World”center
Since the Miami Museum of Science closed its South Miami Avenue building in 2015, the enormous 1934 Pan Am globe of the world that once welcomed guests to the museum. The massive and vibrant sphere has since undergone substantial restoration, and it has been placed in its new, permanent outdoor location at the massive Miami Worldcenter complex in the Park West neighborhood.
In South Florida, the globe is a significant historical item. The former Pan American station on Dinner Key, which is now Miami City Hall, is where the 31-foot-5-inch, 6,500-pound globe was began.
Since moving it to the Frost Museum’s new facility would have been too difficult, the Miami Worldcenter will start spending $700,000 starting in 2020 to restore and weatherproof the globe with its original “approximately 1934” era lines.
A representative of the Miami Worldcenter stated “The Pan-Am globe depicts the world at a critical point in history – prior to World War II and when Miami was first realizing its position as a gateway for tourism and transportation.”
“It was important to the museum to find a partner that would care for this historic piece and ensure that the community can continue to enjoy this local icon,” stated the President and CEO of the Frost Museum.
Once complete, the Miami Worldcenter will feature 27-acres of retail, restaurants, shopping venues, and entertainment destinations. Retail will include 300,000 square feet of space and 40+ businesses.
Some notable retailers have already signed leases for the Miami Worldcenter which include Bowlero, Lucid Motors, and Sephora. Two luxurious restaurants are also named as the new lease holders, Maple & Ash and Laurel Brasserie. Maple & Ash is a famous Chicago restaurant that has now expanded to Arizona and now Miami. Laurel Brasserie is Miami Chef’s Michael Beltrans creation, with an anticipated opening date this summer.
Oak Road Equities Announces Plans for a 40 Story Tower at 2600 Biscayne
Oak Row Equities recently revealed that it had closed on the purchase of a 2.1-acre site on one of the final vacant city blocks in Edgewater. For $35 million, the company purchased 2600 Biscayne Boulevard in order to build a mixed-use building designed by Arquitectonica.
One of Miami’s most rapidly expanding real estate development companies, Oak Row Equities, has ongoing projects in Wynwood, North Miami Beach, Edgewater, and the Design District.
The company’s most recent acquisition is 2600 Biscayne Boulevard. The 2.1-acre lot in the highly sought-after coastal community of Edgewater has just been closed by Oak Row Equities. A mixed-use development with 399 condo units, roughly 160,000 rentable SF of office space, and 6,500 rentable SF of retail space is what Oak Row Equities intends to construct.
Tower Information
40 stories tall
399 class A residential units
160,000 rentable sq. ft. of office space
6,500 rentable sq. ft. of retail space
The proposed Brightline commuter rail is one block away from the location. Arquitectonica, a renowned local architectural studio, will create 2600 Biscayne. A third of the offices at 2600 Biscayne have already been pre-leased by Oak Row Equities. The development team includes LNDMRK Development, owned by Alex Karakhanian.
The Fairholme Foundation, run by Bruce Berkowitz, had previously intended to turn the site into a museum. In 2013, Fairholme spent $6.79 million to purchase the home.
CP Group and DRA Purchase Miami Tower for $163 Million
The famous Miami Tower was just purchased by CP Group and DRA Advisors for $163 million.
Since its completion in 1987, the 47-story office skyscraper by the late Pritzker-winning architect I.M. Pei has served as a landmark in Downtown Miami, illuminating Miami’s skyline with light displays.
The 636,000-square-foot skyscraper has 37 levels of offices, 10 floors of parking, an on-site Metromover station, and street-level retail space. It is situated at 100 SE 2nd Street, a block from the Miami River.
Leading hedge fund Citadel and its sister company Citadel Securities, a market maker, recently announced plans to move from Chicago to Brickell, Miami’s financial area. The company’s creator, millionaire Ken Griffin, paid $287 million for the office building 1221 Brickell and $363 million for a beachfront property on Brickell Bay Drive where he plans to erect an office skyscraper.
Miami Tower traded with a loss, as opposed to 1221 Brickell, which reported an 85% gain from its most recent sale in 2017. According to public documents, Sumitomo Corporation of Americas, the seller, paid $220 million for the property in 2016.
Losing a significant tenant contributed to Miami Tower’s depreciation. Last year, the law firm Carton Fields moved into the MiamiCentral building, leasing around 95,000 square feet. Currently, Miami Tower is only about 65 percent occupied, down from almost 100 percent in 2016.
According to a source, the property’s renovation by the new owners will probably cost more than $20 million.
The agreement is CP and DRA’s second joint venture in South Florida. For $320 million, New York-based DRA acquired CP’s majority ownership of the Boca Raton Innovation Campus office development. It continues to be the largest office trade in South Florida in terms of gross volume.
Miami Selected to Host the World Cup in 2026
The long-awaited list of cities and sites for the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, was released on Thursday by FIFA, the world soccer governing body. Miami and Hard Rock Stadium has made the cut and we can’t be more excited!
Along with Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Boston, Philadelphia, and New York/New Jersey; Miami was one of 11 U.S. cities to make the list.
The televised announcement was watched on giant screens by a boisterous gathering of fans and elected officials at the famed soccer tavern Fritz & Franz Bierhaus in Coral Gables, which has historically been a hotspot for soccer watch parties in Miami. The notable in attendance included Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, Mayor Francis Suarez, and Rolando Aedo, and the Chief Operating Officer of the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Tommy Mulroy, a long-time local soccer promoter and former Miami Toros and Fort Lauderdale Strikers player, has been waiting for this moment for years and was ecstatic on Thursday after being a member of the failed Miami bid in 1994. “This is a long time coming. We fit every criteria. It’s a bicycle kick every criteria for us. It’s time and we’re going to do a great job. In 1994 people here didn’t know what a World Cup was. I had to convince people they would sell tickets. Even now, people think it’s another Super Bowl coming, but it’s so much bigger. I anticipate we’ll have five games and each game will bring a whole new group of tourists,” states Mulroy.
Sixty games are anticipated to be held in the United States, with ten games each in Canada and Mexico. Canada’s games will be held in Vancouver and Toronto, while Mexico’s will be held in Monterrey, Guadalajara, and Mexico City, where two World Cup finals were held at Azteca Stadium.
Each bid committee in the United States has been urged to prepare for up to six games, but they won’t know how many until 2023. Members of the Miami committee will meet with FIFA officials in New York City early next week, but no schedule or other specifics will be finalized until after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which will take place in November and December of this year.
According to Mayor Suarez, “The U.S. hasn’t had a World Cup since 1994, and in those 30 years, Miami has become a dynamic, global city. All the people who live here from all over the world will be rooting for their teams. A lot of hard work was done by a lot of people to make this happen. I feel like I played a game, I am all sweaty.”
FIFA used a complicated point system to evaluate the proposed sites, which included stadium (35%), airport/transport/mobility (13%), estimated revenue from tickets/hospitality packages (10%), estimated revenue from media/marketing rights (10%), predicted organizing costs (10%), proposed international broadcast center (7%), accommodations (6%), team/referee facilities (6%), and proposed FIFA Fan Fest locations (6%). (3 percent).
Hard Rock Stadium is well known for holding international sporting events such as the Miami Open tennis tournament and the Miami Grand Prix Formula One race.
The World Cup schedule will probably come out in 2023 with the actual team selections occurring in 2025. The tournament is set to begin on June 11, 2026, with the final scheduled for July 12. Each location would likely host five to six games, with a knockout round matchup thrown in for good measure.
The tickets will more than likely go on sale in 2024 and the estimated costs for all round is around $300.
