There may be a seasonal dining slump in South Florida, but you wouldn’t know it to look at Las Olas Boulevard, where nearly every block on the ritzy Fort Lauderdale row is bursting with under-construction food destinations.
The eating-and-shopping district east and west of the Henry E. Kinney Tunnel is expected to welcome 11 new restaurants this fall and beyond. At a time of rising rent costs and legacy restaurants closing for good, that’s no small feat.
These new eateries plan to wait out the slower offseason, aligning their grand debuts with the return of South Florida’s traditional snowbird and tourist seasons.
Mike Weymouth, president and CEO of The Las Olas Co., says openings are best timed around October’s Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show — “that way, when you open, you burst out of the gate.”
His hospitality firm owns a chunk of real estate around Las Olas, including the former locations of Howl at the Moon, a block off the thoroughfare, and its next-door neighbor Elba. The sites will transform into Good Night John Boy, a discotheque dive, and a Kapow! Noodle Bar, respectively, Weymouth says.
“There’s a lot of economic headwinds right now,” he says. “But operators like having a presence on Las Olas. Kapow is excited about getting down. So is Good Night John Boy.”
Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel
Construction continues this month on NAIA at 904 E. Las Olas Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Fresh Las Olas restaurants spur foot traffic and help everyone on the boulevard, argues restaurateur Tim Petrillo, who’s also planning to open his coastal Mediterranean-Asian spot NAIA this fall.
Petrillo, for one, welcomes the competition: His brunch restaurant, Java & Jam, will sit down the street from the new English-inspired, breakfast-lunch boutique Little Hen.
“I’d love a monopoly, but the pie is big enough for people to eat off of,” Petrillo says. “I believe in this community so much, because there’s such a demand for this type of living.”
The newcomers
Here are all the eateries getting ready to blossom around Las Olas Boulevard. Please note: Opening dates were provided by the venues and are subject to change.
Good Night John Boy / Courtesy
Good Night John Boy, a disco nightclub packed with shag carpets, roller skates and “dad beers,” is expected to arrive in Fort Lauderdale in October. (Good Night John Boy/Courtesy)
Good Night John Boy, 270 SE Sixth Ave.; GoodnightJB.com: This discotheque fever dream is a curious novelty by Fort Lauderdale standards. For one, It’s designed after co-owner Michael Schwartz’s childhood basement (basements, here?), and for another, it’s shamelessly devoted to the super sounds and styles of the ‘70s. As with its other disco dance floors in Delray Beach and around the country, this location will be adorned in Farrah Fawcett posters, trucker hats and rotary telephones, serve retro drinks like a Dirty Ash Tray and bump to the Bee Gees and Earth, Wind & Fire. And yet, as Fort Lauderdale aggressively modernizes around the club, Schwartz says his throwback bar fits right in. “We differentiate ourselves from other nightclubs because while those are glitzy, we try to be divey with a lot of relics, which are great places to take selfies,” he says. “Dance floors are coming back, and the energy is just at a different level in a disco club.” Opening: Oct. 1.
NAIA, 904 E. Las Olas Blvd.: You might call restaurateur Tim Petrillo bullish about his new Mediterranean-Asian mashup, which is rising at the address that once housed longtime institution Mangos. “I think this will be the crowning jewel of my restaurants,” says Petrillo, whose firm The Restaurant Group operates 10 Fort Lauderdale spots (including YOLO, S3, Nubé). The 240-seat NAIA, a Greek word meaning flowing water, will serve fare such as charred octopus with miso olive oil, sushi, glass-noodle pastas and Japanese A5 Wagyu, along with shareable plates. Opening: First week of October.
Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Caviar Club, a new steak-and-caviar joint with a gilded martini lounge, is set to open this October at 833 E. Las Olas Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Caviar Club, 833 E. Las Olas Blvd.; CaviarClubFTL.com: With $15,000 Bordeauxs, $2,000 caviar tastings and a gilded martini lounge, Caviar Club is loud, brash and more luxurious than any Las Olas space, according to owner Marc Falsetto (Tacocraft, Anthony’s Runway 84). At the velvet-roped, steak-and-caviar joint under executive chef Jeremy Loya (Soho House), tuxedoed table captains will carve dry-aged prime Wagyu steaks and Dover sole tableside, and serve caviar pasta and French dips with au jus gravy in Baccarat crystal. Reservations? “It’s going to be exclusive and very hard to get into,” Falsetto warns. In June, the 4,200-square-foot spot unveiled a Founding 100 program for dues-paying private members. Opening: October.
Sweetwaters, 58 E. Las Olas Blvd.; SweetwatersRestaurant.com: The core of Huizenga Park’s big revamp remains a mystery years after its initial unveiling, with no set menu beyond mentions of coastal cuisine, cocktails and cafe-style coffees, juices and grab-and-go items — not that we’re complaining. This two-story, glass-walled goliath, seating 291 inside and on its New River-facing terraces, sounds like a fine place to people-watch when not enjoying the park’s renovated fountain and dog run. “The New River is one of the most beautiful backdrops in Fort Lauderdale,” John Tallichet, president and CEO of Specialty Restaurants Corp. (Miami’s Rusty Pelican), says in a statement. “Every decision we have made from the architecture to the menu is designed to honor that.” Opening: October.
Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel
Little Hen will replace Planta Queen at 1201 E. Las Olas Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Little Hen, 1201 E. Las Olas Blvd.; LittleHen.com: This Weston-hatched brunchery from hospitality veteran Enrique Altamirano is opening its fifth location within the former Planta Queen space, featuring English-inspired breakfast and afternoon tea service. Each boutique (Miami, Houston, New York City) is known for floral decor and pastels, and dishes include avocado salmon toast, churrasco chilaquiles, caviar omelets, rose petal pancakes and bourbon-battered French toast. Opening: Fall.
Amal, 500 E. Las Olas Blvd.; AmalMiami.com: A 6,000-square-foot luxe Lebanese sit-down from Ink Entertainment Group (Miami’s Byblos), Amal is planning to open its third kitchen in the former Sushi Garage at the Icon Las Olas tower, joining locations in Miami’s Coconut Grove neighborhood and Toronto. The menu from executive chef Wissam Baki features pistachio kebab, truffle rakakat (a truffle-stuffed cheese roll), Nabulsi salad and hot mezze and entrees, including braised lamb shank, Chilean sea bass, Amal’s Hummus (with beef tenderloin, pomegranate and roasted nuts), makanek (beef and lamb sausages) and spinach fatayer (triangular hand pies). Opening: Fall.
INK Entertainment / Courtesy
A selection of dishes from Amal, a new Lebanese restaurant opening this fall on Las Olas. (INK Entertainment/Courtesy)
Skinny Louie, 401 Las Olas Blvd.; SkinnyLouie.com. They’ve dominated your social feeds, and now this Wynwood smashburger chain is shuffling into the Bank of America building, joining recently opened joints in West Palm Beach and Dania Beach. The men behind the patties, Argentine owners Gonzalo Rubino and Matias Palloni (Crazy Poké and Sushi MAS in Wynwood), won the Very Best Burger Award at the 2025 South Beach Wine and Food Festival Burger Bash, further fueling its viral fandom. This new 1,567-square-footer will offer just three burgers — classic, applewood bacon and the Skinny Louie Cheeseburger — available with fries, sodas and milkshakes. Opening: Fall.
Dustin Wright/Atlantic Current for Kapow Noodle Bar
One of the dishes at Kapow Noodle Bar, headed this fall to Fort Lauderdale. (Dustin Wright/Atlantic Current for Kapow Noodle Bar/Courtesy)
Kapow Noodle Bar, 250 SE Sixth Ave., Fort Lauderdale; KapowNoodleBar.com; This pan-Asian retreat known for sleek anime murals and sumptuous small plates will occupy the former Elba a block off Las Olas, landlord Mike Weymouth confirms. The new spot is an expansion under the recently formed Kapow Hospitality Group (restaurateurs Jamie Day, Corri Day, Paul Greenberg and Vaughan Dugan), featuring a refreshed menu of Peking duck, gyoza short-rib tacos, smashed avocado crispy rice, Vietnamese chicken wings, wild mushroom chow fun and Wagyu tomahawk, along with caviar-topped bluefin toro tartare. It joins existing SoFlo locations in Boca Raton and Delray Beach. Next up: West Palm Beach. Opening: Fall-winter.
Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel
La Felicità will open at 1021 E. Las Olas Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
La Felicità, 1021 E. Las Olas Blvd.; Instagram.com/LaFelicita.us. Las Olas is practically Little Italy already, so what’s one more? This Italian trattoria that translates to “happiness” replaces the former B Square Burgers & Booze, promising classic Italian pizza, pasta dishes, cocktails and wine in a space — renderings reveal —that’s draped in lush vines, grass walls, chandeliers and lamplit bookshelves. Opening: Fall-winter.
Pizza Queen, 1217 E. Las Olas Blvd.; Instagram.com/pizzaqueen. This New York-style slice joint is nicknamed after owner Marc Falsetto’s wife, Danielle, a Big Apple foodie reviewer on Instagram. (“We center all our vacations around pizza,” Falsetto says.) It will open in the former Dammiano’s Café & Bistró space that, for now, remains open after Falsetto took over ownership this spring. It will offer New York-hybrid style slices with unbleached imported Italian flours and San Marzano tomatoes, cooked in a triple-deck Forni electric oven, says Falsetto, who was inspired by “the renaissance of artisanal New York slices.” The spare menu will also include spumoni-style ice cream, espressos, Italian sodas, beers and ready-to-drink spritzes. Opening: January 2027.
Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel
Ivy’s will replace Salt7 at 500 E. Las Olas Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Ivy’s, 500 E. Las Olas Blvd. Can the family who polished up both Le Tub and GG’s Waterfront in Hollywood now add luster to this neck of the New River? Husband-and-wife operators Dan and Lise-Anne Serafini and their son, Alex, aim to do it with old-meets-new Florida charm. This American restaurant named after Fort Lauderdale pioneer and suffragist Ivy Stranahan (the Historic Stranahan House Museum is nearby) will seat up to 300 indoors and at its freestanding bar on the Riverwalk. Construction is expected to start this summer in the space that formerly housed Salt7. The in-progress menu: local yellowtail snapper, braised short rib, cold-water shucked oysters and other coastal-inspired eats. “We love the soul of Fort Lauderdale’s history and heritage, which often gets overlooked with the rapid development in the city,” co-owner Alex Serafini says. “We want our menu to celebrate the waterfront.” Opening: Early 2027.