'Having Multiple Orgasms': The Nikki Beach Texts Miami Beach Doesn't Want You to See

New Times has obtained a tranche of text-message transcripts that were entered as exhibits in a lawsuit that has been ping-ponging its way through the courts since May of 2023. The suit was filed by the owners of the Nikki Beach dayclub against the City of Miami Beach and Boucher Brothers, a local concessionaire, shortly after Miami Beach officials unveiled plans to oust Nikki Beach from its longtime South Beach home — a move that blindsided the Penrod family, who owned the popular dayclub.

The messages arrived via an unsolicited email from a source who asked not to be identified in this story.

Some show then-Miami Beach Commissioner Ricky Arriola texting back and forth with one of the Bouchers about securing beach chair rentals for his wife and son. Others show other Miami Beach city officials appearing to rejoice at news reports that Boucher Brothers had managed to ace out Nikki Beach's bid to extend its lease with the city, an agreement that had endured via renewals since 1997.

That's where the "multiple orgasms" mentioned in the headline above this story come in. But as with many memorable orgasms, these will require a bit of foreplay (as it were).

Cue the Background Music

Nikki Beach was founded in 1997 by the late South Florida impresario extraordinaire Jack Penrod — its name is a tribute to Penrod's daughter, who died in a car accident when she was 18. By 2023 the dayclub was a South Beach staple and the company a global brand with Nikki Beach outposts in St. Tropez, Marbella, and Dubai, to name a few. (Penrod died earlier this year at age 85; his widow, Lucia Penrod, and other family members continue to operate the business.)

In April of that year, then-City Commissioner Ricky Arriola proposed bringing in a different beach concession company, Boucher Brothers, to take over the city-owned property at 1 Ocean Dr. after Nikki Beach's lease expires in May 2026.

Boucher Brothers — its name reflects its owners, brothers James, Michael, Perry, and Steve Boucher — provides concessions like umbrellas, cabanas, lounge chairs, and daybeds in partnership with more than 131 high-end hotels and resorts on shorelines across Florida, California, and Virginia.

As the Penrods were about to learn, Miami Beach city officials had been quietly cozying up to Boucher Brothers for years.

In May of 2023, the Penrods sued the city for cutting an "egregious backroom deal" for a potential no-bid agreement with the Bouchers.

A few months later, the city rejected Nikki Beach's bid to stay, claiming the club had missed a deadline to file paperwork through an online portal. At the same time, officials approved Boucher Brothers' $26 million renovation proposal, which included a partnership with Major Food Group, the New York City-based restaurant company behind Carbone and several other popular Miami-area restaurants.

In late summer of 2023, the Miami Herald detailed what the paper described as "cozy ties between city and Boucher, Carbone," noting that a law partner of former Mayor Dan Gelber texted Carbone co-owner Jeff Zalaznick to secure a prime reservation for his daughter’s birthday. Herald reporter Aaron Leibowitz pointed to multiple instances of "the Penrods' claim that they are victims of a sham process to determine the future of the city-owned property at 1 Ocean Drive," including city officials getting coveted dinner reservations at Carbone Las Vegas, free tickets to a Carbone Beach Formula 1 racing event, and "Gelber calling a private meeting with Boucher and city officials ahead of a key vote."

Those revelations, Leibowitz wrote, emerged in the discovery phase of the Penrods' suit against Boucher Brothers and the City of Miami Beach.

Nary a mention, however, of an orgasm, much less multiple ones.

Anticlimax? No, Just Some Formalities!

Before we get to the substance of the text messages, we feel obliged to note that in the course of sorting through them and verifying their authenticity, New Times contacted Miami Beach officials and various attorneys representing the city, Boucher Brothers, and Nikki Beach in the lawsuit.

In particular, we were curious as to why some of the documents were marked "Confidential" in the lower left corner. Soon after a New Times reporter mentioned that detail to attorney Maria Fehretdinov, we received an email from Fehretdinov with a subject line that read "Demand to Return Materials Designated 'Confidential.'"

"We understand you received (not from our firm, Stearns Weaver, nor from our client, Nikki Beach) documents that the City of Miami Beach marked 'Confidential,'" Fehretdinov wrote. "Those documents are subject to a Confidentiality Order and should not have been disclosed to you or your publication.

"Accordingly, we ask that you immediately return to us all documents marked 'Confidential,' if they were provided in hard copy, and destroy any and all copies, including digital copies, of such documents in your possession."

After consulting with our own attorneys (and refamiliarizing ourselves with the mellifluous phrase, "Truthful information, lawfully obtained,") we advised Fehretdinov that we were standing pat. We also asked if she or her firm wished to comment for this story.

The response: "Other than as [previously] stated, counsel for Nikki Beach, Maria Fehretdinov and Jason Koslowe of Stearns Weaver, decline to comment about the pending litigation."

'Multiple Orgasms' and Other Innuendos

On September 2, 2023 — a day after city officials rejected Nikki Beach's bid — former city attorney and interim city manager Raul Aguila dropped a link to a Herald story headlined, "City rejects Nikki Beach bid to remain in South Beach due to missed proposal deadline" in a group chat with chief deputy city attorney Nicholas Kallergis and current city attorney Ricardo Dopico.

Text messages are notoriously difficult to parse for tone, but the mood around the virtual water cooler after Nikki Beach had been removed from the playing field seemed...giddy.

Aguila wrote alongside the link: "How STUPID are they???"

"I'd hate to be the dumbass who waited until [2:59 p.m.] to submit. Imagine there's a malpractice claim there," Dopico responded.

"I'm having multiple orgasms just thinking about it. You guys have all the fun!!!!!!," Aguila replied to Dopico.

Kallergis chimed in: "Omg for sure that kid is fired."

"What a fitting denouement for the Penrod's saga!" Aguila added.

A Miami Beach spokesperson did not respond to New Times' request for comment on Tuesday, nor did Aguila or Dopico.

In August of this year, the Penrods filed a motion for partial summary judgment in the case, arguing that the deal violated the city's rules on competitive bidding.

"Here, the city's contract with Boucher not only materially deviates from the city's RFP, but also materially deviates from Boucher's own proposal," the motion reads. "Shockingly, after selecting Boucher's proposal, the city allowed closed-door negotiations to delete its own requirements and to walk back promises Boucher made to win in the first place."

'Out of Patience'

The text messages also show that Steve Boucher frequently had a direct line to then-City Manager Alina Hudak.

"Good afternoon Alina. I know you're extremely busy running the city (doing a great job) please fit me some time soon to discuss some items at your convenience," Boucher wrote to Hudak on January 17, 2024. "Thanks."

A week later, Boucher sent two texts with requests for the city manager: One was for a two-minute conversation with Hudak, the other for Hudak "to set up a meeting for tomorrow regarding special events."

"I am not requesting you to be in the meeting," he wrote. "If possible, someone from special events. Hopefully an asst manager or director, and myself to discuss some issues. I am extremely frustrated and like to put some open items to rest. I've been frustrated for over two years, and I am out of patience. Respectfully, Steve."

Five hours later, Boucher thanked Hudak for setting up the meeting so quickly.

"If possible, please call when driving home," he added.

Arriola Likes the Beach

Other text messages reveal then-Commissioner Arriola's ties to Steven Boucher. In the messages, the commissioner frequently requested umbrellas and cabanas for beach visits with his family.

"Hey bud — sorry to bother you — Tracy wants to take [our son] to the beach tomorrow (Wed) — can we get a cabana down by the Stanton?" Arriola asked Boucher in a July 19, 2022, text that appears to reference Boucher Brothers' rentals outside the Marriott Stanton South Beach, where cabanas go for $27, queen daybeds run $150 to $300 depending on the day, and chair rentals cost $30 a pop.

"No problem I'll have it set up," Boucher promptly replied.

In a message two months earlier, Arriola thanked Boucher for "taking care" of him.

"Steve — thanks for taking care of me and my guests," he wrote. "That was a lot of fun!"

"Anytime my friend," Boucher responded. "Next year will be even better. Let's get lunch soon."

Steve Boucher declined to comment for this story. When New Times reached Arriola to discuss his fun under the sun, the former commissioner asserted that he was not much of a beachgoer.

"I don’t think I frequently go to the beach — maybe 2-3x a year," he responded in an email. "If I go and want to rent a cabana or lounge chair, I call or text Steve beforehand so I can reserve one. I always pay. It’s no different than getting a reservation at a restaurant — I want to make sure I can get the amount of chairs or umbrellas I may need in the area of the beach I am going to," the former commissioner wrote.

"Steve is someone I consider a friend and someone I like, but we are not 'close' friends," he added.

On that note, the Herald's Aaron Leibowitz documented Arriola's apparent affinity for sand and saltwater back in 2023, detailing November 2022 text messages in which Arriola arranged a beach day through Boucher Brothers. He subsequently backed the beach rental company for the Nikki Beach site even though city staff recommended that the contract be put out for a competitive bid.

According to the Herald, Arriola said he paid for the chairs and umbrellas like any other customer, dismissing questions about his relationship with Boucher as "silly."

Editor's note: Click this hyperlink to read these and other text messages from Penrods v. Boucher Brothers and City of Miami Beach in a new browser tab.