Construction crews are working at 3190 Commodore Plaza. For more than 15 years that was LoKal, the burger and local-beer room that opened in 2011 and became the first restaurant in Kush Hospitality Group. According to Coconut Grove Magazine's October 14 report, the next tenant is La La Land Kind Cafe. The bright-yellow coffee chain has cafés in California, Texas, Arizona and Tennessee, and this would be its first in the Miami area. No opening date has been announced.
LoKal closed June 28. In a video announcement in March, founder Matt Kuscher said, as Miami New Times reported, that "the rents were raised 50 percent, and honestly, it's just no longer sustainable as a business." When one storefront goes from a 15-year local burger room to a chain from another state, the reason is the rent. Across the village center this year, the new tenants with the highest profiles are mostly operators that can carry Grove rent with income from other locations.
The rent sheet behind the new signs
The clearest numbers come from The Real Deal's July 16 report on Grove restaurant rents. Timo Kipp's Whalou Properties owns Mayfair in the Grove, a 288,000-square-foot mixed-use complex. Kipp bought it in 2010 for $37.8 million, or $131 a square foot. In that report he said Carbone Vino, from New York-based Major Food Group, signed a 10,000-square-foot lease there at more than $100 a square foot in fixed rent, plus a share of revenue. That comes to at least $1 million a year.
The same report puts that figure next to an older one. Five years ago, a space Kipp co-owns at 3390 Mary Street leased for $50 a square foot. It recently leased for three times that, and he said rents at Mayfair have more than doubled over the same period. The 3,200-square-foot building at 3190 Commodore Plaza was bought for $3.9 million, or $1,219 a square foot, according to property records The Real Deal cited. Retail space in the Grove is scarce, and the report says landlords can choose their tenant mix instead of leasing to whoever applies first.
Michael Beltran, the Miami-Dade chef behind Ariete, Chug's Diner and The Taurus in the Grove, told The Real Deal that he secured a long-term lease with local landlords for Ariete before the boom. He described how things work for restaurateurs signing leases now:
"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."
At $1,219 a square foot, 3190 Commodore Plaza is one of those buildings.
The names that can carry it
Walk the village center this fall, and the new arrivals mostly have other locations to lean on. Here they are in the order you would reach them on foot, with each one's status as of this week:
- Le Specialita Café & Market, inside Mr. C Residences at 2655 S. Bayshore Drive. This Italian café and market comes from the Cipriani family's brand and was open by late March, Miami New Times reported.
- Miami Slice, at 2996 McFarlane Road. Its fourth location opened Wednesday, August 12, and Coconut Grove Magazine reported that it has a wood-fired oven and a menu served only at this shop.
- Levain Bakery, across the street at 2979 McFarlane Road near CocoWalk. The 30-year-old New York bakery's first Florida shop is still marked "Coming Soon!" on Levain's own locations page, with no opening day. Miami New Times listed it among its fall openings in September.
- Carbone Vino, at Mayfair, 2911 Grand Avenue. It opened in December 2024 and is the reference point for the $1 million lease.
- La La Land Kind Cafe, at 3190 Commodore Plaza. It is under construction and has no announced date.
- Le Labo, at 3444 Main Highway. The fragrance brand was expected to open soon, according to Coconut Grove Magazine in August.
Three of the six had no opening date when this went to publish. Levain, La La Land and Le Labo are all still listed as coming. The two McFarlane Road addresses face each other a short walk from CocoWalk, which is owned by Federal Realty Investment Trust. The Real Deal reported that the trust became the 198,000-square-foot center's sole owner two years ago.
The independents who opened anyway
Local operators still opened in the village center in 2026. The ones that did tend to fit the same pattern, with either scale behind them or a lease signed early.
The Coconut Grove Spotlight's June roundup covered 1986 Argentine Steakhouse, an independent restaurant led by Stefano Cremasco, which opened in May at 2911 Grand Avenue, Suite 111. The same roundup reported Grand Public Kitchen + Bar open at CocoWalk, in a space Miami New Times listed as 3015 Grand Avenue, Suite 201. It also covered Rice Kitchen, which opened at CocoWalk in February and is run by owner Jafar Shabani as a 10-location South Florida operation. A homegrown chain fits the same economics as the national names.
On Main Highway, Manoli, a Greek restaurant led by its chef, was officially open at 3540 Main Highway by late July, Coconut Grove Magazine reported. Sapore di Mare, a Grove restaurant that was already established, reopened in a new space at 3433 Main Highway in April, according to the same outlet. Le Labo is set to open at 3444 Main Highway, between those two addresses. That part of Main Highway now has independents and national brands side by side.
Where the long-running operators went
The 3190 Commodore Plaza building lost two concepts, not one. The Real Deal reported that the building's second space started as Vicky's House, a retro milkshake bar, and became Victoria's Vinos & Vermouth. It then reopened as the lasagna concept Si Papa through a partnership with 84 Magic Hospitality. The building was vacant at the end of June, and 84 Magic said it planned to move Si Papa elsewhere.
Kuscher had already started becoming his own landlord. The same report says he bought a 7,500-square-foot building at 2003 North Miami Avenue in Wynwood in 2022 for $2.6 million, or $347 a square foot. He is reopening Kush there, along with 10 workforce micro-units for hospitality workers, developed with the Omni Community Redevelopment Agency. That price per square foot is less than a third of what 3190 Commodore Plaza sold for. Beltran is in a similar position from the other side. His Ariete lease, signed early with local landlords, is what he credits for staying put. The Real Deal also reported that most of the Grove's retail real estate is still held by longtime private owners who rarely sell. Those owners decide who fills the next empty storefront.
The fall dates that bring people back to the same blocks
The village's fall programming mostly happens on streets, parks and event halls, where no one has to cover a retail lease. From Friday, October 23, into mid-November:
- Coconut Grove Harvest, Friday, October 23, through Sunday, November 1, on Fuller Street in downtown Coconut Grove. The event listing has a pumpkin patch every day, plus a Halloween program on Saturday, October 31, from 6 to 8 p.m. with Books & Books storytelling, a DJ, trick-or-treating, a scavenger hunt and Fantasy Theatre Factory's Little Monsters Tales.
- Fangtasia at Regatta Grove, October 30 and 31 at 3415 Pan American Drive, a two-day Halloween program on the waterfront, according to Greater Miami's tourism listing.
- The Kampong, where the garden's fall program includes Paloma Teppa's EDEN – A Return to Wonder, running October 2026 through January 2027, and Out of Darkness: The Ecology of Care, running through September 11, 2027.
- Coconut Grove Jewelry & Watch Show, November 13 to 15 at The Hangar at Regatta Harbour, 3385 Pan American Drive, with a VIP preview on November 12, per its listing.
- The 18 Wheelers at The Barnacle, Friday, November 13, at 7 p.m., on The Barnacle Society's calendar.
- Holiday Barkzaar, Saturday, November 14, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at The Barnacle, a dog-friendly holiday market and fundraiser with a $7 entry fee, per the Society.
Fuller Street runs a block from Commodore Plaza, so Harvest's Halloween night on October 31 will fill sidewalks just steps from where La La Land is building out.
If you own Grove retail, are weighing a building with an expiring tenant, or want to understand how a block's tenant mix affects value nearby, Luxury by Monica offers discreet, numbers-first advice drawing on both residential and commercial investment experience. Schedule a Private Consultation.
