New Times collage. Google Maps screenshot of 8 Southeast 8th Street. Bad Bunny photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images
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If you didn’t get enough of David Grutman partying in front of Bad Bunny’s casita, you’ll have fun reading about their latest real estate venture, which shows that their restaurant and business partnership is rooted in a genuine friendship.
High-profile retail real estate in the heart of Brickell continues to command institutional confidence as Miami’s luxury dining and lifestyle scene shows no signs of slowing down.
As reported by Traded and Commercial Observer, UBS has provided a $23.5 million refinance loan on two Brickell area retail condominium units totaling 22,190 square feet, reinforcing the enduring value of celebrity-backed hospitality in one of the city’s most competitive submarkets. The properties are owned by Kevin Waissmann through Tango Property Management and are located at 8 Southeast 8th Street and 1300 South Miami Avenue within the SLS Brickell and SLS Lux corridor.
The larger of the two spaces, measuring roughly 15,300 square feet, is home to Gekko, the Japanese steakhouse and lounge co-owned by Bad Bunny and hospitality heavyweight David Grutman. Since opening, Gekko has become one of Brickell’s most high-profile dining destinations, blending luxury nightlife, celebrity culture, and high-end cuisine in a way that has helped redefine the neighborhood’s retail landscape.
The second retail condo, totaling approximately 6,900 square feet, houses additional upscale hospitality concepts, including Ahu Mar, an Italian restaurant, and Rosa Negra, a cocktail lounge, further anchoring the asset as a multi-tenant, experience-driven retail play rather than traditional storefront space.
The refinance comes just over a year after both retail condos were sold by Robert Rivani’s Black Lion Investment Group for $38.3 million in an all-cash transaction, a deal that underscored the premium investors were willing to pay for Brickell retail tied to proven hospitality operators. The new financing structure suggests long-term confidence in both the tenants and the broader Brickell market, even as retail faces uncertainty in other US cities.
While the transaction does not involve a change in ownership, UBS’s role as lender signals strong institutional confidence in Miami’s urban core, particularly in assets that blend dining, nightlife, and global celebrity appeal. Brickell’s dense residential population, international tourism, and proximity to Brickell City Centre have helped insulate experiential retail from the challenges facing traditional storefronts nationwide.
Celebrity-driven hospitality has increasingly become a preferred bet for lenders and investors alike, especially when backed by operators with established track records. Grutman’s portfolio of venues across Miami, New York, and Las Vegas combined with Bad Bunny’s global cultural reach, has positioned Gekko as more than a trend-driven hotspot. It has become a long-term anchor for Brickell’s luxury dining ecosystem.
As Brickell continues its transformation from a financial district into a full-scale luxury lifestyle hub, transactions like this highlight where capital is flowing. Experiential retail, marquee tenants, and concepts that fuse culture with commerce. For Miami, the message is clear. The city’s appetite for high-end, celebrity-backed dining is not just surviving, but thriving.
