Farewell to Niven Patel's Orno and Mamey: A Love Letter to Coral Gables

Come next week, there won’t be any more mango grilled cheese or green chickpea hummus in Coral Gables. We won’t be able to dance to the sounds of Tito’s drums while sipping jerk margaritas on the Mamey on 3rd rooftop.

What am I talking about? Let's go back to the beginning.

It was February 2020, shortly before the horrors of the COVID-19 pandemic set in for the restaurant and hospitality industries.

I was among a group of fellow Miami media and industry professionals gathered at Rancho Patel, chef Niven Patel’s farm in Homestead, where he grew produce for what was then his only restaurant, Ghee.

We were sampling bites from his three (!) soon-to-open restaurants: island-inspired Mamey, New American Orno (which would earn the title of New Times' "Best New Restaurant" of 2022), and pasta-themed Erba, which had already taken Miami by storm as a pop-up.

We danced, we laughed, and we ate some damn good food. That was the last time we would all gather together for a while.

About a month prior, just shy of my 27th birthday, I took a job that felt very close to my heart. Thesis Hotel was opening in what was once the Holiday Inn. It would house the aforementioned Mamey and Orno, and I was to be the restaurants' marketing manager.
Though I'd never lived outside Miami, it felt like a homecoming of sorts. Thesis was right across on South Dixie Highway from my alma mater, the University of Miami (Go Canes!), and I had lived in the Gables practically my whole life. Coral Gables was long overdue for some new fine-dining options, and Chef Patel and his partner, Mohamed "Mo" Alkassar, were set to bring them.

Then the unimaginable happened.

In March 2020, the team was furloughed and the entire project hung in the air. We waited for three grueling months until UM announced its partial reopening. With it came a green light from Thesis Hotel's ownership to open Mamey in August 2020.

If you've ever worked in the restaurant industry, then you'll know that restaurant openings shave years off your life. Now, imagine opening a restaurant in the thick of a pandemic while constrained to outdoor tables spaced at least six feet apart.

Still, Mamey was an instant hit upon opening in August. Locals were excited for a reprieve from takeout and ecstatic that a restaurant of this caliber had opened in this corner of the Gables. Mamey was a tropical escape in every way, and Niven's food was nothing short of inspiring. As I incorporated phrases like "socially distant" into our marketing material, the chef's calmness gave me hope that better times were coming soon.

And that they did. In November of the same year, we opened the rooftop Mamey on 3rd, a vibrant oasis boasting stunning sunsets and live music.

Masks were still a thing, but life seemed on the upswing. Our sanity, on the other hand? Nowhere to be found. We were running with a slim team. Hiring was next to impossible so we all wore a million hats. I vividly remember being scheduled as a breakfast manager and getting yelled at by a guest because I didn’t know how to properly froth a cappuccino. Chef came in that morning to find me on the verge of tears. He proceeded to teach me how to use the espresso machine.
In what seemed like an impossible sprint-turned-marathon, Alkassar, Chef Patel, and the rest of the team prepped for the opening of Orno in October 2021. It was an airy space with hanging planters and a stunning pizza oven at the helm of its open kitchen. Although the concept was great, I was doubtful about our ability to strike gold twice. But Miami embraced it and I was elated to be proven wrong.

Orno solidified Thesis into what we'd envisioned it would be: a hub for Gablelites and beyond to dine, drink, and stay — something the city hadn't seen since the Biltmore Hotel.

Now, for the heartbreaking part.

Before I go on, I want to share a line that has stayed with me since I first encountered it while studying English literature at UM. It's from a poem by John Donne entitled, "The Canonization," and it reads, "And if unfit for tombs and hearse/Our legend be, it will be fit for verse."

Like Donne's poem, this story does not have a happy ending.

Sadly, restaurants close all the time. Come next week, Orno will cease to exist, and Mamey, although it will keep its name, will change considerably.

Patel shared the announcement on his Instagram on December 28.

"Sad news," the caption began. "As of January 14th, we will be separating from Orno and Mamey. Two restaurants that we poured our heart and soul into since the day we started this journey 5 years ago. It’s heartbreaking for me and my partner to part ways with two teams that we love so much, these restaurants are dear to our hearts and we’ll miss all our guests."

Although there will be no more mango grilled cheese or green chickpea hummus for the time being, Patel maintains hope for fans of Mamey and Orno: His farewell announcement included news that he and Alkassar "are working on a new home for Orno as a concept and we'll also be launching the Mamey menu elsewhere."

Still, fans of the Thesis oases are understandably left heartbroken (and I count myself as one of them). In building Mamey and Orno, we penned a love letter to the city of Coral Gables.

I have to remind myself that while Orno and Mamey as we came to know them will be gone as of January 15, their memory will live on in all who celebrated a birthday, engagement, or a regular Tuesday night within them.
The developers of Thesis have promised to implement new dishes at Mamey, as well as at Mamey on 3rd, while transforming Orno into a restaurant called the Collaborative Series, a new culinary concept offering chef collaborations and cultural immersion experiences from around the world.

Chef Patel and Alkassar will surely will go on to wow residents of other neighborhoods in Miami and beyond with their talent and expertise.

I'll happily be making a reservation.

Until then, all my love,

Cindy.