The success of Ariete led him to open Chug\u2019s Diner, Chuggie\u2019s, The Taurus and, through a partnership with Mae\u2019s Group, Drinking Pig BBQ and the cocktail lounge Mae\u2019s Room.<\/p>\n
Beltran declined to disclose what he pays for rent at his restaurants but said he\u2019s grateful he locked in a long-term lease with his local landlords for Ariete before the neighborhood\u2019s real estate boom.<\/p>\n
The affordable rents that once drew independent restaurateurs have become far more difficult to find, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe inventory is depleted,\u201d Beltran said. Restaurants \u201ckeep signing these bad leases, because we think that there\u2019s a pot of gold at the end. New people come in and they buy a building at an exorbitant rate, and then they expect us to pay the rent so that they could pay their mortgage and pay the bank back. That\u2019s the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
Delivering landlord profits\u00a0<\/p>\n
Timo Kipp\u2019s Whalou Properties owns the \u200b\u200b288,000-square-foot mixed-use complex Mayfair in the Grove<\/a>. He bought the property from Deutsche Bank in 2010 for $37.8 million, or $131 per square foot, when Coconut Grove looked nothing like it does today, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The property is at 3354 Mary Street, 2901 Florida Avenue and 2911 Grand Avenue \u2014 adjacent to the 179-key Mayfair House Hotel & Garden, where Kipp also owns a retail unit.\u00a0<\/p>\n One of Kipp\u2019s most notable restaurant tenants to open in the Grove is Carbone Vino, from New York-based Major Food Group<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The restaurant signed a 10,000-square-foot lease at Mayfair for over $100 per square foot in fixed rent in addition to a revenue-sharing agreement, he said. That works out to at least $1 million a month. Carbone Vino\u2019s menu includes a $24 chopped salad and an $84 ribeye. Its lease at 2911 Grand Avenue began in June 2022, and the restaurant launched in December 2024. <\/p>\n The rent at a space Kipp co-owns at 3390 Mary Street has ballooned as well. It leased for $50 per square foot five years ago, and it recently leased for three times that, he said. Rents at Mayfair have more than doubled in that time, he said.<\/p>\n The same corporate migration, office leasing<\/a> and redevelopment that brought daytime workers and investment into the Grove boosted the neighborhood\u2019s retail resurgence, Kipp said.<\/p>\n With a limited amount of retail space available in the Grove, rising demand pushed rents higher, said Ryan Brodsky, a retail broker with Colliers.<\/p>\n The imbalance is so pronounced that Brodsky likened the market to a waiting list. Despite the rapid rent growth, he doesn\u2019t expect a correction.<\/p>\n Instead, Coconut Grove\u2019s affluent customer base and limited inventory allow landlords to be highly selective, curating their tenant mix rather than leasing to the first available occupant, he said.<\/p>\n Rent squeeze, restauteur-to-developer\u00a0<\/p>\n The Grove\u2019s success was built in part by other local restaurateurs, like Kush Hospitality\u2019s Matt Kuscher, who were willing to take chances before the neighborhood became one of Miami\u2019s hottest retail districts, Beltran said.<\/p>\n Starting in 2011, Kush operated restaurants at 3190 Commodore Plaza that included Lokal and Vicky\u2019s House. Vicky\u2019s House, a retro milkshake bar, later became a bar, Victoria\u2019s Vinos & Vermouth, before reopening as the lasagna concept Si Papa through a partnership with 84 Magic Hospitality last year.<\/p>\n The space was vacant at the end of June, though 84 Magic plans to relocate Si Papa, which served a stripped-down menu of lasagne, tiramisu and wine by the glass.\u00a0<\/p>\n Landlord ABL Real Estate\u2019s entity bought the 3,200-square-foot property for $3.9 million, or $1,219 per square foot, in September, property records show. The company did not respond to interview requests.\u00a0<\/p>\n Kuscher said on social media in March that he would have loved to stay longer, but \u201cthe rents were raised 50 percent.\u201d He was not available for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe were lucky that guys like Matt Kuscher did what he did in the Grove,\u201d Beltran said. \u201cInstead of being rewarded for all the time and effort that he put there, he got pushed out.\u201d<\/p>\n It would take a restaurant doing \u201ccrazy numbers\u201d to make it in that location now, he said.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Kuscher is going the owner\/operator route, becoming his own landlord and acquiring a taste for development on the way. He bought the 7,500-square-foot space at 2003 North Miami Avenue in Wynwood for $2.6 million, or $347 per square foot, in 2022 with plans to reopen Kush this summer. He also was a partner in developing 10 workforce micro units in the building.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to be the king of affordable housing and restaurant mixed-use in Miami,\u201d Kuscher said in a statement. \u201cThis is just the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n The apartments were developed in partnership with the Omni Community Redevelopment Agency with support from the Public Benefit Trust Fund, and will be available to hospitality workers across Miami, not just his own staff. Kush also has a Brickell location.\u00a0<\/p>\n Real estate investment accelerates restaurant rents<\/p>\n Coconut Grove\u2019s evolution into one of Miami\u2019s wealthiest hubs has mushroomed alongside an influx of billionaires and institutional investors flocking to the Magic City.<\/p>\n The once bohemian Grove\u2019s resi market is over the top.<\/p>\n Billionaire Citadel founder Ken Griffin has poured cash into Coconut Grove\u2019s resi market, paying a record $106.9 million<\/a> for a bayfront estate in 2022. The neighboring property listed this year for $110 million<\/a>. Google co-founder Larry Page assembled nearly $200 million<\/a> worth of properties in the Grove this year.<\/p>\n Developers have rushed to capitalize with luxury condo projects including Terra\u2019s 13-story, 39-unit The Well Coconut Grove<\/a>, CMC Group\u2019s redevelopment of the former Grove Isle<\/a> resort and the developer\u2019s joint venture with Fort Partners for the Four Seasons Coconut Grove<\/a>.<\/p>\n On the commercial side, hedge funds and private equity firms are grabbing hold of the Grove.\u00a0<\/p>\n Billionaire Paul Singer\u2019s Elliott Investment Management teamed up with Lifestyle Hospitality Capital Group to buy the hotel-condo portion of Mayfair House from Brookfield Asset Management last month for $110 million<\/a>.<\/p>\n Federal Realty Investment Trust became the sole owner of CocoWalk two years ago, acquiring the remaining stake of the 198,000-square-foot outdoor shopping center from the Comras Company and Grass River Property for $12.4 million \u2014 almost ten years after it paid $87.5 million<\/a> for 80 percent interest. The combined deals priced the property at $505 per square foot.<\/p>\n Despite the growing interest from institutional investors, most of Coconut Grove\u2019s retail real estate is still controlled by longtime private owners, Brodsky said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone wants to be in Coconut Grove, but there\u2019s not too many sellers,\u201d Brodsky said.<\/p>\n The neighborhood\u2019s retail boom accelerated with the wave of post-pandemic migration that reshaped South Florida\u2019s housing market. As affluent buyers relocated to Miami, demand for restaurants and retailers followed, particularly in established neighborhoods like Coconut Grove.\u00a0<\/p>\n But the neighborhood\u2019s success inevitably became a pain point for restaurateurs who kept Coconut Grove cooking before the boom.<\/p>\n \u201cThe evolution of the Grove has been great, but also there\u2019s some parts of the Grove that are selling out,\u201d Ariete\u2019s Beltran said. \u201cSoon the per square foot is only going to pertain to \u2018let\u2019s open up four Salt & Straw and four Sweetgreens.\u201d (Coconut Grove has one Salt & Straw and one Sweetgreen, which are next to each other.)\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cA mom and pop is not going to be able to pay that.\u201d<\/p>\n \tRead more \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Mayfair in the Grove lands $114M refi as South Florida lending flows\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t The Closing: Jeff Zalaznick<\/p>\n
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