What does it cost to keep a burger restaurant open on Commodore Plaza in 2026? Matt Kuscher gave Miami New Times a number. He said Grove restaurants are paying an average base rent of $85 to more than $100 per square foot a year. For a typical full-service room, that works out to roughly $100,000 to $350,000 a year, or about $10,000 to $30,000 a month.
Kuscher opened Lokal on Commodore Plaza in 2011, when he was 33. He closed it on Sunday, June 28, after nearly 15 years. Several restaurants have opened in the Grove this year, and all of them went into spaces that came with something already in place, such as a wood-fired oven, a bayfront condominium, a former Michelin-listed dining room or a shopping center's second floor. Those spaces explain where the neighborhood will be eating this fall.
One address, two goodbyes
The building at 3190 Commodore Plaza lost two restaurants on June 28. Lokal was one. The other was Si Papa at 3190, a small Italian spot from 84 Magic Hospitality and Kush Hospitality. Its only entree was a $15 lasagna. Si Papa opened in summer 2025 as a pop-up to take the overflow from Cotoletta, the veal Milanese restaurant nearby. It shared space that once belonged to Vicky's House, a retro milkshake bar with 1980s decor. Its owners called the closing "an arrivederci, not goodbye" and said they were looking for a new location.
Lokal mattered more to the neighborhood's history than most locals may realize. Kuscher told New Times it was his first restaurant, before Kush Wynwood. He opened Kush because Lokal had become too family-oriented for the crowds of craft beer fans lining up for its tap events. When New Times first reported the closure in March, he pointed to a proposed 50 percent rent increase. After 15 years the building also needed major repairs, and he said it no longer made sense to spend that money on a leased space.
On the last weekend, Kuscher invited regulars to take pieces of the restaurant home. Vintage signs, framed awards and even the bathroom mirrors were gone before closing. As of the latest reports we checked, no new tenant has been confirmed for 3190 Commodore Plaza.
Where the new restaurants opened
The restaurants that opened after June show a pattern. Each one moved into a space with something already built in, and each has the backing to make use of it.
Manoli, 3540 Main Highway. The Greek restaurant opened on July 22 in the former Sereia space. Sereia had been added to the Florida Michelin Guide before it closed. Chef Emmanouil "Manoli" Aslanoglou is Michelin-trained and comes from Greece. Eater Miami describes Manoli as a 140-seat restaurant built around shareable plates from traditional recipes. Its neighbors on the south end of Main Highway are the Michelin-starred Ariete and the Taurus.
Miami Slice, 2996 McFarlane Road. The pizza shop opened on Wednesday, August 12, in the Historic Engle Building next to Mr. C Miami. It is the brand's fourth location, after the original downtown slice bar, a takeout shop in Key Biscayne and a counter at Fontainebleau Las Vegas. The building's wood-fired oven made a Grove-only menu possible. Culinary director Jose "Chema" Cardenas uses it for wood-fired cabbage, and the menu also has a watercress Caesar, beef carpaccio and a Caprese salad.
La Sponda, 4 Grove Isle Drive. This Italian restaurant opened in mid-September at Vita at Grove Isle. It took three years to develop, starting with a conversation between Thomas Angelo of Gioia Hospitality Group and CMC Group founder Ugo Colombo. Martin Brudnizki Design Studio designed the dining room, and a local artist painted Coconut Grove's peacocks onto custom lamps. Angelo runs the restaurant with his daughter Kassidy. Their group is also behind Daniel's Miami, which replaced Fiola in Coral Gables. "Miami does not have a lot of waterfront dining, which sounds a little bit like an oxymoron," Kassidy Angelo told New Times.
Two openings from earlier in the year follow the same pattern. Grand Public Kitchen + Bar opened May 21 in the former Planta Queen space on the second floor of CocoWalk, at 3015 Grand Avenue, Suite 201. 1986 Steakhouse opened May 1 at Mayfair.
These rooms have something the 3190 storefront lacked. Each comes with an existing feature or a larger owner behind it. A historic building's oven, a Michelin-listed dining room, a waterfront condominium or a shopping center can help a restaurant absorb rents in the range Kuscher described.
McFarlane Road is the block to watch
The newest stretch to watch is the short run of McFarlane Road down to the bay. Miami Slice is at 2996. Levain Bakery's first Miami shop is set for 2979 McFarlane, across the street. As of New Times' September 24 update, Levain was still listed for fall 2026 with no opening date. Once both are open, this block will have pizza and cookies across the street from each other, a short walk from Main Highway and the bayfront parks.
The New Times reviewer who visited Miami Slice before it opened expects the outdoor tables along McFarlane to fill up once the weather cools. October is when that should start.
Commodore Plaza's smaller openings
Commodore Plaza has seen smaller openings this year, and they have been shops. ScandyCandy held its grand opening at 3119 Commodore Plaza on Saturday, May 9. The shop has a self-serve wall of Swedish candy. Two doors away, Susan Blake Jewelry at 3111 Commodore Plaza has posted daily hours. In a September 20 profile, the Coconut Grove Business Improvement District said the shop planned an opening party for the last weekend of September.
So this block has been gaining stores while the new dining rooms have opened on Main Highway, on McFarlane, at CocoWalk and Mayfair, and on Grove Isle.
Planning a fall night out
Each new room works best for a different kind of evening.
- A walk-in dinner with the dog. Miami Slice is dog-friendly and takes dine-in guests first come, first served, with no reservations for now. Full pies and slices are also available for takeout. New Times recommends the pistachio tart. The shop also sells cookies from Liger's.
- A long table on Main Highway. At 140 seats, Manoli has room for groups, and the menu is built around shared plates.
- A courtyard evening. By August 24, The Infatuation reported Drinking Pig BBQ operating in the courtyard at 3444 Main Highway alongside its sibling restaurants. Mae's Room and Chuggie's opened at the same address last November.
- An occasion on the water. La Sponda serves a four-pound salt-crusted branzino by preorder and a 42-ounce Australian Wagyu bistecca Fiorentina. Resy says the wine list has more than 500 bottles.
- Drinks above the street. Grand Public at CocoWalk takes reservations through its own site.
What hasn't been settled yet
Lokal was not the year's first long-running closure. The Last Carrot closed on February 7 after 50 years at 3133 Grand Avenue.
The next big change near Main Highway will be public space. On June 25, the City Commission approved $5 million in plans for Kirk Munroe Park and Fuller Street. The park plans include tennis and play areas, a pavilion and a great lawn. Fuller Street will get pavers, trees, drainage and road work. According to Miami Today's August 12 report, the developer expects construction to begin next summer.
Two questions are still open this fall. One is when Levain will open on McFarlane. The other is who will take 3190 Commodore Plaza, where Lokal and Si Papa both closed on June 28.
The same economics that are changing the Grove's restaurant rows also apply to its homes. Owner-led 1 Nation Realty follows those block-by-block shifts closely. If you'd like to talk about how a change on McFarlane Road or Main Highway could affect a property you own or are considering, request a private consultation.
