Rao's Is Opening in Miami Beach as Lure Fishbar Looks for New Spot in Miami
Two New York restaurants play real estate switcheroo
One of New York’s oldest and notoriously impossible to get into restaurants is opening up a Miami Beach location.
At the same time, the southern outpost of a beloved New York City seafood palace is moving out of its space at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel to make room for the newcomer.
Rao’s, the red sauce institution frequented by politicians, celebrities, and New York City muckety-mucks, is opening a location inside the Loews Miami Beach Hotel, located in the heart of South Beach. The news was broken by World Red Eye on Instagram, with details about the location provided by Miami New Times.
Shortly after, Loews provided the following statement:“The New York City icon, Rao's, is opening inside the Loews Miami Beach Hotel, in early 2023. Loews Hotels & Co and Rao's will be sharing additional details as they become available.”
Rao’s will move into Loews Miami Beach’s restaurant space at its adjacent Art Deco St. Moritz building. The space is currently occupied by New York-based Lure Fishbar, which is still open.
Lure Fishbar’s owner John McDonald (who is also the founder of Broken Palate), said that, after nearly a decade of successfully operating Lure in South Beach, he was looking to explore new neighborhoods in the metropolitan Miami area — specifically Brickell and Wynwood.
Both neighborhoods have been seeing a vast increase in high-end restaurant activity. Major Food Group just opened its steakhouse concept, Dirty French in Brickell, and London’s Sexy Fish moved into the area a few months ago. New York City bistro, Pastis, is opening a location in Wynwood come early 2023, and the area’s first major hotel, the Arlo Wynwood, will open in Fall 2022.
There is no set closing date for Lure Miami Beach, although McDonald speculates that it will close sometime in the next few months. “We have not formalized a firm closing date, but we’ve been working with the hotel to facilitate a smooth transition to allow for what I think is going to be a great location for Rao’s.”
McDonald adds that his decade-long partnership with the Loews has been great, but it’s simply time to move on. “It’s time for something new for both sides. I love the Miami market and look forward to Lure Fishbar 2.0.”