Miami is a volatile town.
A restaurant might be ground-breaking and wonderful and exciting, but then it'll close just a few months after opening. Others might stick around for years, competing against New York imports and shiny, big-pocket places until eventually losing ground.
In 2013, the Magic City lost several restaurants. Here are six that will be greatly missed.
See also: Top 15 Restaurants Reviewed in 2013
In 2012, you couldn't find good European-style bread in this town. When Acme Bakery & Coffee opened in September of that year, its owners, the folks behind the Federal Food Drink & Provisions, promised to change that. Alejandro Ortiz aspired to create a baking tradition native to Miami. And until its closure in April 2013, loyal fans visited Acme for its sweets, breakfast, and lunch offerings. Acme was the first bakery to try to solve our bread crisis, and for that we should all be thankful.
5. Bloom
At this Wynwood restaurant, the kitchen mashed Latin American and Asian cuisines. Sure, it's execution was troublesome at times, but Bloom was a nice spot to get a drink and street food-inspired snacks. The cocktails were the greatest lure, particularly the Tequila Beets -- made with Alacrán tequila, roasted beet juice, lime juice, chamomile syrup, and whiskey-barrel-aged bitters.
Bernie's was nothing special. Located on Alton Road, the casual restaurant served unfussy, healthy Latin American eats. There was brown rice and beans, maduros, and grilled chicken or lechón asado. It offered South Beach residents an affordable, easy dining option, which is a rare find in that neighborhood.
3. Lester's
Some folks didn't quite understand Lester's. It was a strange confluence of things: coffee shop/bar/artist meeting point/culture hub. But I don't care what it was; I remember always having a good time there -- drinking dry Lambrusco, listening to music, and hanging out with a crowd that wasn't as rowdy as Wood's. Lester's closed right before this year's Basel, and there's still no word on what's happening at that location next.
2. Clive's Cafe
In the past, Clive's Cafe had two locations, one on North Miami Avenue and another on NW 2nd Avenue. Pearline Murray, who owns Clive's alongside her sister Gloria Chin, opened the North Miami Ave. spot 38 years ago -- long before the days of Bardot, Gigi, and the Shops at Midtown Miami. This year, when Murray tried to renew her lease, her landlord said they'd be remodeling the building and bringing it up to snuff with everything else in the area. It closed in March, which is a bummer, because midtown would really use a patty or two.
1. Box Park
Box Park was unlike any other restaurant in Miami. It dabbled in vegan cuisine, proffering ancient grain salads with quinoa, goji berries, and citrus. But it also served alligator gumbo with wild board, sassafras, and okra; cauliflower steaks; and a killer banana split sundae with stout ice cream. Chef Matt Hinckley obsessed over his ingredients and made everything -- mead, kombucha, pickles, vinegars, charcuterie -- from scratch. I'll miss his duck confit.
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