October 2015 Miami Restaurant Openings and Closings

September was a month of ups and downs for Miami's restaurant scene. On the one hand, eateries opened in droves in anticipation of the coming season. Notables include Pinch by former Pubbelly alum John Gallo and Rene Reyes and the reopening of Knaus Berry Farm for another season of warm cinnamon rolls and fresh produce.

Two celebrity chefs also touched down in Miami this month. Chopped judge and Food Network star Alex Guarnaschelli opened Driftwood Room at the Nautilus South Beach hotel and Top Chef's Spike Mendelsohn opened Sunny's at the Hall South Beach. 

Miami restaurateurs Michael Schwartz and Jamie DeRosa were in the news frequently. Schwartz opened his second Harry's Pizzeria in Coconut Grove while announcing plans for several more locations. At the same time, he announced the closing of Restaurant Michael Schwartz at the Raleigh Hotel and the transition of Cypress Room into Cypress Tavern. Jamie DeRosa opened Izzy's Fish & Oyster, a long anticipated New England-style seafood restaurant, and closed Tongue & Cheek just days later.

Many of Miami's closings, though shocking, seem more like "till we meet again" than "farewell forever". Centro Taco closed after three months downtown, with Richard Hales opening the concept as a Midtown pop-up. 50 Eggs' BTW closed to make way for its new fried chicken concept, Spring Chicken, and Magnum Lounge closed but will reopen soon as a new iteration by Bar Lab.

Finally, Hy Vong, Miami's beloved Vietnamese restaurant closed on Friday after a week-long struggle to stay open. Co-owner Kathy Manning vows to reopen the restaurant in a new space.

Openings

• Abaco Premium Wines (140 NE 39th St., Miami)
  
• Apeiro Kitchen & Bar (3252 NE First Ave., Miami)
  
• Bareroot pop-up at Better Days
  
• Beacon Hill Chocolates 
  
• Driftwood Room
  
• El Tucan (1111 SW First Ave., Miami)
  
• Firito Taco 
  
• Freddo Helado Brickell (1100 S. Miami Ave., Miami)
  
• GK Bistronomie (218 NW 25th St., Miami)
  
• Gianni's at the Villa (1116 Ocean Dr., Miami Beach)
  
• Habit Burger Grill (9971 W. Flagler St., Miami)
  
• Harry's Pizzeria Coconut Grove (2996 McFarland Rd., Miami)
  
• Holiday's at the Hall South Beach (1500 Collins Ave., Miami Beach)
  
• Izzy's Fish & Oyster
  
• Knaus Berry Farm 
  
• La Feria Del Mercado Pop-up at Bayside Marketplace
  
• M.U.G. Cafe and Hair Salon (331 NW 26th St., Miami)
  
• Marion (1111 SW First Ave., Miami)
  
• Pinch Miami (8601 Biscayne Blvd., Miami)
  
• Pincho Factory at AAA
  
• Serendipity Creamery (421 NW 26th St., Miami)
  
• Sliderz (1817 123rd St., North Miami)
  
• Soho Bay (reopening at 520 West Ave., Miami Beach)
  
• Sunny's at the Hall South Beach
  
• Total Wine & More (1139 Fifth St., Miami Beach)
  
• TiramesU (101 Washington Ave., Miami Beach)
  

Closings

• BTW
  
• Centro Taco
  
• Hy Vong
  
• Magnum Lounge
  
• Nobu
  
• Restaurant Michael Schwartz at Raleigh Hotel
  
• Tongue & Cheek

Changes

• Cypress Room transitions into Cypress Tavern

Coming Attractions

• 5411 Empanadas - From Chicago to Coral Gables
  
• Azucar - Opening near FIU.
  
• Bachour Bakery and Bistro - The master baker opens a bistro.  
  
• Bake House - Opening in Miami Beach  
  
• Beaker & Gray - Opening in Wynwood.  
  
• Bikini Barista - Coming to midtown. 
  
• Biscayne Bay Brewing Company - Opening in Doral. 
  
• Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill - Opening in Miami.
  
• China Grill - Moving to Brickell.  
  
• Cake Thai Kitchen - Opening in Wynwood.
  
• Centro Taco - Reopening as a pop-up.
  
• Choices Cafe - Opening in Coconut Grove.  
  
• Coyo Taco - Popping up at Shore Club.
  
• Dirt - Plant-based meals coming to SoBe. 
  
• Della Bowls - Plant based fast casual.  
  
• Dragonfly - Third of the Florida chain and first in Miami-Dade coming to Doral. 
  
• Estefan Kitchen - Gloria and Emilio are at it again.  
  
• Farinelli 1937 - Upscale pizza by the owners of Strada.  
  
• Freddo Helado - Opening in Doral.  
  
• Gravity Brewlab - Opening in Wynwood.  
  
• Groovin' Bean - Coffee house and lounge opening in Overtown.  
  
• Harry's Pizzeria - Chef Michael Schwartz expanding several locations.
  
• IGA Culinary School - Opening in North Miami. 
  
• Jodi's Italian Ice - Opening soon.
  
• Juan Valdez Cafe - Opening in North Miami. 
  
• Komodo - David Grutman and China Grill team opening in Brickell. 
  
• Ladurée - Pops up in Design District for Art Basel
  
• Laffa Mediterranean Kitchen - From the My Ceviche team.  
  
• Latin House Grill - Opening near FIU.
  
• Le Macaron - Opening at Dadeland and other locations. 
  
• Le Zoo - Stephen Starr restaurant in Bal Harbour.
  
• Michy's Pop-Up - Coming to Miami Beach for Art Basel
  
• Ms. Cheezious - Planning expansion. 
  
• My Ceviche - Coming to Midtown and MIA  
  
• NaiYaRa - Chef Bee to open Thai Asian street food bistro in SoBe.  
  
• Naked Burger - Chef Ralph Pagano at it again. 
  
• Nobu - Reopening new location at Eden Roc.
  
• Itabe - Kevin Aoki and Roman Jones collaborate on a restaurant.  
  
• Magnum Lounge - a new version by the Bar Lab team.
  
• Paraiso Bay Restaurant and Beach Club - Michael Schwartz opening a restaurant at this Edgewater complex.  
  
• Panther Coffee - Opening in MiMo, and Little Haiti. 
  
• PB Station - The Pubbelly Boys open in Miami.  
  
• Persona Pizzeria - California chain coming to Miami.  
  
• Phuc Yea! - Popular pop-up opening in MiMo  
  
• Pisco y Nazca Ceviche Gastrobar - From the folks at Bulla.  
  
• Puroroast Coffee - Opening in Brickell.
  
• Quinto La Huella - Uruguay's Parador La Huella coming to Miami.  
  
• Pao - Paul Qui opening restaurant at Faena Miami. 
  
• Paulie Gee's Brooklyn pizza - Coming to Upper Eastside.  
  
• Pasion del Cielo - Opening in Brickell and Doral. 
  
• Pincho Factory  - Opening several locations in Hialeah, Doral, West Kendall, Pinecrest, and Orlando.
  
• Pubbelly Sushi - Opening second location.  
  
• Quinta La Huella - Opening soon. 
  
• Revolution in Bloom - Vegan and vegetarian cuisine.  
  
• Sarsaparilla Club - Janine Booth and Jeff McInnis to open restaurant at Shelborne Wyndham Grand Hotel.
  
• Segafredo - Opening in Bayside. 
  
• Stellino's - Italian cuisine coming to Doral. 
  
• Sugar Factory - Opening second location on Lincoln Road.  
  
• Sullivan St. Bakery - Opening in Little Haiti.  
  
• The Spillover - Lokal explores the sea.  
  
• Spring Chicken - 50 Eggs doing fast casual chicken in four locations.
  
• Talde - Dale Talde to open Asian-inspired cuisine at Thompson Miami Beach Hotel.  
  
• Tanuki - From Moscow to South Beach.  
  
• Tap 42 -Fort Lauderdale gastropub opening in Coral Gables.  
  
• Taste Buds of India - Coral Springs rest opening in South Miami. 
  
• Toasted Bagels - Coming to Coral Gables.  
  
• Tobacco Road - New and improved Road opening this winter.  
  
• Trust & Co. - Bank meets Steampunk in Coral Gables. 
  
• Tutto Il Giorno - Authentic Italian fare coming soon.  
  
• Which Wich - Opening several locations in Miami.  
  
• Whole Foods Market - proposed megastore in Sunset Harbour.  
  
• Wynwood Yard Pop-Up - Coming in the Fall. 
  
• Zak the Baker - Planning an expansion of his cafe and bakery. 
  
• Zest - Cindy Hutson opening a restaurant and fast-casual concept.  
  

Projects in the Works

• Jugofresh's Matthew Sherman and Darren Laszlo plan to open a new concept in Sunset Harbour.  
  
• Chef Alex Stupak is shopping for a location in Miami for a taco restaurant.  
  
• Joel Robuchon and Jean-George Vongerichten are both opening eateries in the Design District  
  
• Arjun Wanjey, a partner at Zuma and Coya, will open a French restaurant in Brickell in the coming year.