What do a pre-butterfly caterpillar, a day at the hair salon, and adolescence tell us? You have to go through an awkward (or even ugly) stage before you emerge a beauty.
The same happens with restaurants. Before opening to the public, they go through many months of sawdust-covered floors, sawhorses covered with blueprints, and gray cinderblock walls before a beautifully decorated restaurant opens to the public. So how do you hide all of that construction from spying eyes?
In the past, restaurant owners would tape simple brown butcher paper or newsprint onto the windows or cover them with soap. But in Miami, where everything is lovely all the time, even "Coming Soon" and "Under Construction" notices are easy on the eyes.
Consider the signs we encountered on a recent walk along Lincoln Road, where three new tenants are busy finishing up for their fall debuts.
Khong, a Northern Thai restaurant by 50 Eggs, is scheduled to open this fall at the former Miss Yip on Meridian, just off Lincoln Road. Sepia-toned murals depict an old Thai village with the tag line "5,000 years of farm to table."
Dylan's Candy Bar is set to open in November. What was once home to San Francisco chocolatier Ghiradelli will now house Dylan Lauren's homage to childhood via Manhattan's Upper East Side. If the South Beach shop is anything like the other four (located in New York City, East Hampton, Houston, and Los Angeles), expect to see giant gummy bears, stuffed animals, penny candies that cost more than a penny, and lots of private-label chocolates and T-shirts.
Cooper Avenue is moving into a brand-new location at the New World Center, just off Lincoln Road. This combination eatery/market/bar/lounge is another project by Gigi's Amir Ben-Zion. We're intrigued by the possible Mad Men reference tacked to the windows.
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