![\"Adam](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/MIA_2026-10-06AD0079GrampsAdamGerstencopy_ppcopy.JPG\" "\\"Adam")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Adam Gersten, the owner of Gramps Getaway, speaks about the city of Miami\u2019s Referendum 3 at his restaurant along the Rickenbacker Causeway on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026. Miami voters will decide whether to lease about 28 acres of publicly owned waterfront on Virginia Key to a private developer for up to 75 years.<\/p>\n
PHOTO BY AL DIAZ<\/p>\n
adiaz@miamiherald.com<\/p>\n
If you wanted a cold drink and a meal by the water in Miami a decade or so ago, you had options. There was Scotty\u2019s Landing in the Grove, Shuckers over in North Bay Village and, before that, Jimbo\u2019s out on Virginia Key. A lot of those old-school waterfront spots are gone now, and the list of places where you can still grab a drink, order some food and sit by the water without much fuss has gotten pretty short. These days, Gramps Getaway on Virginia Key is one of the few places left.<\/p>\n
But over the last month, Gramps Getaway has taken on a new role: something of a campaign headquarters, with Adam Gersten \u2014 the bar\u2019s owner \u2014 emerging as a prominent face of the opposition to city of Miami Referendum 3.<\/p>\n
The ballot item, if approved, would allow Virginia Key LLC \u2014 a joint venture between Texas-based Suntex Marinas and Miami Beach-based RCI Marine Group \u2014 to lease and redevelop about 28 acres of city-owned land in Virginia Key, including the city-operated Marine Stadium Marina and the Rickenbacker Marina, where the bar is located. The stretch of land starts just south of Rusty Pelican, which is not part of the planned redevelopment.<\/p>\n
Gersten, a fourth-generation Miamian, has become one of the leading voices in the effort against the referendum. Signs propped up on tables throughout the restaurant and bar read, \u201cPROTECT GRAMPS Getaway. VOTE NO! ON CITY OF MIAMI REFERENDUM 3.\u201d Waiters and bartenders are ready with answers when patrons have questions about the referendum.<\/p>\n
Public discourse has widely been about whether Gersten and Gramps Getaway could stay if the redevelopment plan advances. But Gersten says the fight is about something bigger: \u201cCan Miamians save the soul of Miami?\u201d<\/p>\n
With the influx of affluent New York and California transplants to Miami during the COVID-19 pandemic came rapid gentrification, the displacement of many locals, new restaurants popping up while longtime restaurants closed their doors. Gersten, who has also served on the city\u2019s urban planning and zoning board for almost 10 years and is now chair, says residents feel they\u2019re losing their sense of place and the city is losing its character, and he wants to stop that.<\/p>\n
![\"Vote](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/MIA_2026-10-06AD0005GrampsAdamGersten.JPG\" "\\"MIA_2026-10-06AD0005GrampsAdamGersten.JPG\\"")
A \u201cVote no on Miami Referendum 3\u201d sign was on display at the Rickenbacker Marina & Boatyard along the Rickenbacker Causeway in Miami on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026. PHOTO BY AL DIAZ adiaz@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n
The referendum up for a vote in November includes a 45-year initial lease term, with two additional 15-year renewal options. The new operators would pay the city a minimum base rent of $2.2 million a year, plus a percentage of revenues, and spend an estimated $80 million to redevelop the marinas.<\/p>\n
The deal was first proposed in 2016, and many critics \u2014 including some city commissioners, Miami-Dade\u2019s property appraiser and the city\u2019s own mayor \u2014 consider it a bad, outdated one. Although Virginia Key LLC points to two appraisals from earlier this year that call the deal \u201cabove fair-market value,\u201d the opposition has critiqued the substance of those appraisals and challenged their validity in court.<\/p>\n
Virginia Key LLC is pitching the transformation as a positive step forward for the city, even using the slogan \u201cSave Virginia Key.\u201d Its website shows renderings of what the marina would look like after redevelopment \u2014 similar architecture to the development in Coconut Grove\u2019s Dinner Key, where Regatta Grove and Bayshore Club now sit on the site of the former Scotty\u2019s Landing, albeit on a much larger scale.<\/p>\n
Their website<\/a> says it would be a more accessible \u201cwaterfront for all\u201d rather than a \u201cmarina to some\u201d and promises adding a connected baywalk, new waterfront restaurants and retail, more public parking and public restrooms. They also advertise upgraded marina infrastructure, new boat slips and improvements to existing restaurants, including Gramps Getaway, which they say would be welcome to stay and be part of the new transformation.<\/p>\n Gernsten calls their campaign \u201ca little desperate\u201d but \u201cwell run\u201d and \u201cwell funded.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo they\u2019re saying, \u2018Look at these giant numbers. We\u2019re saving Virginia Key,\u2019 and really, it\u2019s about preserving,\u201d Gersten said during an interview with the Miami Herald. \u201cThey are preserving a wonderful deal for themselves that is very, very old.\u201d He\u2019s not optimistic about the future of Gramps Getaway if the referendum passes. Ultimately, he\u2019d like to save the restaurant in its current state.<\/p>\n The Herald requested an interview with Suntex Chief Development Officer David Filler and President of RCI Group Robert Christoph, but neither were available over the course of several days. They instead answered questions via email.<\/p>\n \u201cSuntex Marinas and RCI Group will save Virginia Key by opening the waterfront to the public, cleaning up the existing environmental hazards, achieving \u2018Clean Marina Designation\u2019 from the State of Florida, and maximizing the financial return to the City so that more dollars can be invested in priorities like parks, public safety, housing, and more. That\u2019s why voters should vote \u2018yes\u2019 on Referendum 3,\u201d Filler and Christoph said in a joint statement.<\/p>\n How a 2017 bid ended up on a 2026 ballot<\/p>\n The question on the November ballot stems from a yearslong saga that has involved the city being sued over and over. In 2017, when the city was looking for a new operator to lease and redevelop the Marine Stadium and Rickenbacker marinas, Virginia Key LLC was ranked highest by a selection committee, as it had in a previous 2015 bidding process.<\/p>\n The team that was ranked second, Biscayne Marine Partners LLC \u2014 formed by the current operator of the Rickenbacker Marina, led by Aabad Melwani \u2014 then sued the city over the bidding process, ultimately losing. Melwani\u2019s team has been operating the Rickenbacker Marina on a month-to-month basis as a \u201choldover tenant\u201d since 2015.<\/p>\n The legal battle caused more delays to the planned redevelopment.<\/p>\n In November 2020, the City Commission agreed to reject all the procurement proposals<\/a> and declined to award the contract to Virginia Key LLC. Commissioners cited various concerns, including environmental issues and questions about the other proposals. Virginia Key LLC challenged the decision in court.<\/p>\n In 2021, the commission pursued a competing proposal by Biscayne Marine Partners and sent a referendum to voters that would have authorized a no-bid 45-year lease with the option to renew with Melwani\u2019s team. That prompted Virginia Key LLC to sue the city<\/a>.<\/p>\n Voters rejected the referendum in November 2021. That version of the redevelopment deal would have had the operator spending even more on marina improvements than the deal on this November\u2019s ballot \u2014 $115 million, compared to the $80 million promised by Virginia Key LLC \u2014 and more owed to the city in base annual rent, too \u2014 $2.75 million, compared to $2.2 million.<\/p>\n Then, in 2023, a judge ruled that the city had acted \u201carbitrarily and capriciously\u201d by rejecting all bids and then favoring a lower-ranked bidder. The city appealed, but the ruling was upheld in 2025.<\/p>\n \u201cOur team, Suntex Marinas and RCI Group, was selected by an independent committee as the top-ranked participant in two public RFPs held a decade ago,\u201d Filler and Christoph wrote in their joint statement. \u201cUnfortunately, the hold-over tenant whose family has controlled the Rickenbacker Marina since 1983, Aabad Melwani, resorted to weaponizing the courts for personal gain by mounting a series of unsuccessful legal challenges which delayed progress.\u201d<\/p>\n During a City Commission meeting this summer, city commissioners reluctantly voted<\/a> to put the matter on the ballot, following City Attorney George Wysong\u2019s advice. Wysong suggested that commissioners could be individually held in contempt if they did not follow the judge\u2019s orders to put the deal out to voters.<\/p>\n Gersten and the current Rickenbacker Marina operator, led by Melwani, sued the city and the elections department soon after, alleging that the language on the ballot was misleading, among other things. They sought an injunction to prevent the question from getting printed, but the judge denied the request, allowing the referendum to appear on the ballot while the legal battle continues<\/a>.<\/p>\n While Virginia Key LLC notes that there are two appraisals from early 2026 that determined the deal on the ballot goes \u201cabove fair-market value,\u201d Gersten and Melwani\u2019s coalition takes issue with the methodology and the independence of those appraisals, something that\u2019s part of their lawsuit\u2019s argument.<\/p>\n Gramps Getaway has also posted an Instagram video of former Miami mayor and current Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser Tom\u00e1s Regalado calling the ballot item \u201ca bad deal.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n How Gersten\u2019s campaign started<\/p>\n Gersten says he started his campaign after the City Commission voted to put the referendum on the ballot in June.<\/p>\n \u201cThey said something publicly, but then they voted a different way,\u201d Gersten said, referring to several of the commissioners saying it was a bad deal for the city.<\/p>\n But he held off on commenting publicly until the judge\u2019s ruling that allowed the ballot item to move forward.<\/p>\n In late August, Gersten posted his first Instagram video<\/a> urging people to vote no on the referendum. It got over 380,000 views.<\/p>\n \u201cThe deal on your ballot is a crooked deal,\u201d he says in the video. \u201cIt\u2019s a bad deal for the city and for you. Don\u2019t be fooled by the big numbers that these guys throw around in their ballots. \u2026 This is a below-market giveaway of public waterfront land again, cooked up in back rooms in 2016 and 2017, which was 10 years ago. It was a horrible deal then, and it\u2019s a worse deal now.\u201d<\/p>\n Right around the time of the video, he reached out to Justin Mendoza-Routt, a Democrat who had just lost a primary for a Florida House seat and a city of Miami resident, to help with the campaign.<\/p>\n The more Mendoza-Routt heard from Gersten about what was going on, he says, the more he wanted to be involved in helping the community \u201cfight back against\u201d the same things he was running for as a candidate.<\/p>\n \u201cThe overdevelopment of Miami, pushing out of the people that made Miami what it is, the businesses, what makes it feel like Miami,\u201d Mendoza-Routt said. \u201cI think we\u2019ve all seen, particularly in the last five or so years since the pandemic, a huge cultural shift away from I think what most of us, you know, what brought us here, made us love this city, grow up here and stay here.\u201d<\/p>\n Since then, Gersten has partnered with local bars, including Over Under in downtown and Las Rosas in Allapattah, to host rally sessions where volunteers can sign up to help with the campaign.<\/p>\n Mendoza-Routt says over 300 volunteers have signed up from different sides of the aisle: Republicans, Democrats, NPAs.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople understand that it isn\u2019t just about a marina deal; it is a long-term change to this property that they don\u2019t get to undo,\u201d Gersten said.<\/p>\n Viral videos and accusations<\/p>\n But the viral videos urging people to vote no have prompted opposition. A small group of young conservatives on social media have uploaded videos accusing Gersten of being a communist, calling Gramps Getaway an \u201cantifa headquarters\u201d based on a 2019 Democratic Socialists of America of Miami post inviting people to a happy hour at Gersten\u2019s now-closed Wynwood establishment, Gramps.<\/p>\n When asked about the accusations, Gersten said he\u2019s had all kinds of groups get together at Gramps and Gramps Getaway.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got MAGA hats and Gulf of America hats and the beautiful boaters,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is a very diverse group, and everybody\u2019s welcome to come buy a beer and a cheeseburger.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis waterfront is everyone\u2019s waterfront. It is a public space,\u201d he added. \u201cWhen this place opened, I understood that this is city property. We just want people to respect each other, respect the people that work here, respect the people that dine here, and we\u2019re good. And maybe wear shoes and shirts sometimes, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n The conservative content creators have also made personal and sometimes racially charged jabs at Gersten, Melwani and Gramps Getaway employees. They\u2019ve called Gersten and Melwani \u201csquatters,\u201d claiming that Gersten doesn\u2019t pay enough rent and that Melwani has refused to leave. Gersten is on a month-to-month contract with Melwani, who is also currently month-to-month with the city.<\/p>\n Melwani took over the lease in 2006 from his father, who originally leased the marina in 1983. While the lease technically expired in 2016, Melwani has been the holdover tenant until the legal cases are sorted out and the public gets the opportunity to vote on a new deal.<\/p>\n Gersten is on what\u2019s called a triple net lease with Melwani, which basically means Melwani has the lease on the building, but Gersten pays the cost of property insurance for the building, property taxes and common-area maintenance, plus a base monthly rent of $2,500. He says that amounts to about $15,000 a month that he pays Melwani. Aside from that, Gersten says he\u2019s invested \u201cwell into six figures\u201d to upgrade the property, including adding a new kitchen.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd if you add additional improvements, even from the early iterations, plus the cost of borrowing, we\u2019re into seven [figures],\u201d Gersten said.<\/p>\n Melwani said he currently pays the city 15% of his gross revenues, which includes dockage and dry storage, the main components of the business. He also pays 5% of his fuel sales and 40% of his sublease income, which includes the base rent that Gersten pays, Melwani told the Herald.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat all these influencers are reporting is not the rent that [Gersten] pays the city, because he doesn\u2019t pay the city rent,\u201d Melwani said. \u201cHe pays me rent, and then I apportion the rent that he pays me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGiven that I am on a month-to-month, so is Adam,\u201d Melwani added. \u201cAnd notwithstanding his month-to-month tenancy with me, I mean, he spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in what is called tenant improvement. So, in order to have a successful business here that\u2019s beneficial both to us and to the city, I mean, I can\u2019t \u2014 I can\u2019t bleed him out and then have a failing operation here, right? Especially when he\u2019s invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into the building.\u201d<\/p>\n If the referendum fails, the City Commission would be expected to start the whole process over again, since city-owned waterfront leases or sales need to be approved by voters through a referendum. New bids would be drafted, and a new deal would eventually be passed along to the voters, like what happened in 2021 and again this year.<\/p>\n The city could also consider running the Rickenbacker Marina itself, like it runs the Marine Stadium Marina. (The actual Marine Stadium will be operated by a private venue-management company after Miami voters passed a separate referendum<\/a> on the August ballot.)<\/p>\n Regardless of the outcome, Gersten said he and Gramps will be OK. Filler, the principal of Suntex Marinas, sent a letter to Gersten in late August, saying Gramps could have a place in the new development and offering to have a sit-down with the bar owner.<\/p>\n \u201cThe existing Rickenbacker Marina and Marine Stadium Marina facilities are in need of substantial investment, but that investment can be made without eliminating the aspects of the current operation that benefit the public \u2014 including Gramps. We operate marinas throughout the country and always try to work with and retain successful tenants while modernizing and renovating properties to reach their potential,\u201d part of the letter<\/a> reads.<\/p>\n But Gersten said he isn\u2019t sure he can trust the offer. The developers have also said they\u2019d bring a new Monty\u2019s location to the marina<\/a>, like they did at the Miami Beach marina, and Gersten doesn\u2019t know if Gramps Getaway could survive with a Monty\u2019s next door.<\/p>\n If the referendum passes, the litigation is sure to continue. While a judge recently ruled that the question had to stay on the ballot, the court has not ruled on whether the deal violates the city\u2019s own charter, which requires a fair market-value proposal.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll be OK,\u201d Gersten said during last week\u2019s panel at Las Rosas. \u201cI would love to save it as it is, and when I say save it, I mean saving what it feels like in the context of the place. It\u2019s not just like, I\u2019ll save my restaurant. It\u2019s like, this place will look different around us, and then what does this place become?\u201d<\/p>\n This story was originally published October 14, 2026 at 4:46 PM.<\/p>\n![\"City](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/MIA_32_MiamiCommissionMeeting6-11-26MXF.JPG\" "\\"MIA_32_MiamiCommissionMeeting6-11-26MXF.JPG\\"")
City Attorney George Wysong listens during a commission meeting at Miami City Hall on Thursday, June 11, 2026. Photo by Marra X. Finkelstein mfinkelstein@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n![\"Adam](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/MIA_2026-10-06AD0140GrampsAdamGerstencopy.JPG\" "\\"MIA_2026-10-06AD0140GrampsAdamGerstencopy.JPG\\"")
Adam Gersten, owner of Gramps Getaway, speaks about the referendum on the November ballot while at his restaurant on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026. Standing behind him is senior adviser Justin Mendoza-Routt. PHOTO BY AL DIAZ adiaz@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n![\"From](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/MIA_1_Gramps_Rally_MJO.JPG\" "\\"MIA_1_Gramps_Rally_MJO.JPG\\"")
From left: Valentina Pereda, Isaiah Thomas, Coloma Kaboomsky and Adam Gersten participate in a panel discussion at Las Rosas on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, in Miami. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/MIA_3_Gramps_Rally_MJO.JPG\" "\\"MIA_3_Gramps_Rally_MJO.JPG\\"")
People listen during a panel discussion about issues facing South Florida ahead of the midterm elections at Las Rosas on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, in Miami. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com What happens next<\/p>\n![\"Justin](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/MIA_2026-10-06AD0251GrampsAdamGersten.JPG\" "\\"MIA_2026-10-06AD0251GrampsAdamGersten.JPG\\"")
Justin Mendoza-Routt, a senior adviser to Adam Gersten, owner of Gramps Getaway, stands at a doorway at the restaurant with a sign urging Miami voters to vote no on Referendum 3 on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026. PHOTO BY AL DIAZ adiaz@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n
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