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Editor’s note: This is a breaking and developing story. The investigation into the helicopter crash remains ongoing, and details are still emerging. New Times will update this story as additional information becomes available.
Roger Duarte, the Miami entrepreneur who founded George Stone Crab and co-founded My Ceviche, was reportedly killed Wednesday, Aug. 19, in a helicopter crash in Kenya, Africa. He was 42.
According to a statement released by the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA), the accident occurred at about 9:13 a.m. local time on Wednesday, Aug. 19, near Mt. Ololokwe in Samburu County in northern Kenya.
Duarte was one of seven passengers aboard the helicopter when it crashed. All seven passengers died, according to Kenyan media outlet Kenyans and the local newspaper The Star.
Kenya Red Cross
Five American citizens among 7 killed
According to the KCAA, the Eurocopter EC130 B4 crashed around 9:13 a.m. local time near Mount Ololokwe, about 170 miles north of Nairobi. The aircraft had been flying south from Loisaba, a wildlife conservancy, toward the Ewaso Nyiro River.
Kenyan authorities identified Roger Duarte among the six passengers killed in the crash. Authorities identified the other five passengers as Adam Navaty, Henry Parra, husband-and-wife Michele Sensi-Contugi and Stephany Hollihan, and José Alberto Suárez. Authorities identified the pilot as Josh Outran.
Hollihan was a 42-year-old fashion designer and founder of Sensi Studio based in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Harper’s Bazaar Ecuador honored her memory with an Instagram post on Wednesday. Her husband, Sensi-Contugi, was the director general of Ecuador’s intelligence agency, Center for Strategic Intelligence (CIES).
Journalist José Alberto Suárez was president and general manager of Telemundo 31, Telemundo 49, and Telemundo Ft. Myers–Naples. NBC6 South Florida honored his memory with a statement.
According to Parra’s LinkedIn, he had been on a “gap year” from his work as an “Aviation Software Technology Co-Founder.”
Press release by KCAA
In an exclusive statement to PEOPLE, Luxury safari company &Beyond confirmed that an aircraft carrying its guests crashed near Kirish, close to Mount Ololokwe, Wednesday morning. “Out of respect for our guests and those involved in the incident, further information will be communicated in due course,” the company said.
According to Tuko, the helicopter had picked up the six men from the Suyian Conservancy wildlife sanctuary, a popular tourist destination. The cause of the crash has not been determined. Kenya’s Ministry of Roads and Transport’s Air Accident Investigation Department is leading the investigation.
According to a New Times source familiar with the matter, a second helicopter that landed safely allegedly transported Duarte’s wife. However, this has not been confirmed.
A major figure in Miami’s food world
Although his career began far from the culinary world, Duarte became a longtime figure in Miami’s restaurant and hospitality industry. In 2008, he left the fast-paced world of investment banking to start his own business, George Stone Crab. He was still in his 20s.
What began as a Miami stone crab delivery business grew into a national operation built around one of South Florida’s most iconic delicacies. George Stone Crab became known for shipping Florida stone crab claws directly to customers nationwide. His success quickly drew national attention. In 2016, Forbes named Duarte to its 30 Under 30 list in food and wine for his work with George Stone Crab and My Ceviche. Bloomberg would later dub him the “Stone Crab King.”
Duarte also co-founded My Ceviche, which he opened with chef Sam Gorenstein in a tiny South Beach space in 2012. The restaurant became a hit and eventually expanded throughout South Florida, becoming part of a new generation of homegrown fast-casual restaurants that emerged in Miami during the 2010s.
Duarte later became CEO of Hospitality Capital Partners.
A family deeply rooted in Miami’s restaurant community
Duarte’s wife is Nicole Valls Duarte, a member of one of Miami’s most prominent restaurant families.
Valls Duarte is the daughter of Versailles Restaurant owner Felipe Valls Jr. and the granddaughter of the late Felipe Valls Sr., who founded the landmark Cuban restaurant on Calle Ocho in 1971.
The Valls family is also behind La Carreta, another longtime Miami institution with locations across South Florida. Duarte and Valls Duarte have two young sons, Roger Felipe and George.
Together, the couple represented two different chapters of Miami’s restaurant history. Valls Duarte grew up in the family behind some of the city’s most recognizable Cuban restaurants, while Duarte built George Stone Crab from the ground up before helping launch My Ceviche.
Roger Duarte
Duarte built George Stone Crab into a national business
George Stone Crab became the brand most closely associated with Duarte. The business helped take a delicacy synonymous with South Florida to customers around the country. The company is also featured by New Times in articles on the best stone crab in the city.
Duarte’s career eventually expanded beyond the companies he founded. As CEO of Hospitality Capital Partners, he remained involved in hospitality and investment.
His death at 42 comes nearly two decades after he left investment banking to enter Miami’s food business.
Reactions and condolences from peers
News of Duarte’s tragic death has sent shockwaves throughout the community, especially among those close to him.
“Roger was an angel,” writes Erin Newberg. “My beloved friend since college. His wife, too. They embodied love, light, and loyalty. Roger, you were the most generous with your crabs; you and I would always scream, ‘What up, Suffolk?’ I pray for Nicole and her family, and his family, and their beautiful son.”
“Roger is one of the first founders I got to know in the Endeavor network a decade ago,” comments local politician Richard Lamondin. “We built our companies side by side. We lost a great person and a great talent. I ate way too much of his ceviche. He will be missed. My love to his family.”
“I have been in shock since I heard the news a few hours ago,” says Lee Schrager of Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits and SOBEWFF. “I’ve known Roger for over 12 years. I was proud to put him on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list several years ago. I always admired his work, ethics, and his love for his wife and son. I saw him last walking in the neighborhood with their beautiful son just a few weeks ago, and I spoke to him days before he left for Africa, telling him it was one of my favorite trips ever and how much he would enjoy it. My heart goes out to his family, friends, and our community. A truly tragic loss at any age, let alone at 42. His memory will be a blessing to me and to so many whose lives you touched.”
“My brother, rest in paradise,” writes CEO of Haute Group Kamal Hotchandani.
Miami New Times sends our heartfelt condolences and prayers to the Duarte and Valls families.
