CLIENT NEWS: Los Angeles hospitality group behind Delilah plans new Miami Beach restaurant
October 2, 2024The Nice Guy, a mafia bar-inspired restaurant from Los Angeles, may open a new location in Miami Beach.
Members of the Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board will discuss the restaurant’s submitted land use application, letter of intent and architectural plan on Oct. 8, according to the group’s agenda.
Michael Larkin, an attorney and shareholder of the Miami-based zoning and land use law firm, Bercow Radell Fernandez Larkin + Tapanes, is representing The Nice Guy’s hospitality parent, The H.wood Group.
The company seeks to open The Nice Guy at 1657 Michigan Ave., which is a 7,500-square-foot commercial property that previously housed the beloved Miami staple, Icebox Cafe, and is owned by 947 Lincoln Road Holdings, LLC.
In an August letter of intent, Larkin stated The H.wood Group aims to renovate the property’s interior and exterior, but would need permission from the Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board since the 100-year-old structure lies within the Flamingo Park Local Historic District.
Built with a “one- and two-story structure,” the property was constructed in a Mediterranean Revival design by William F. Brown. The building’s Lincoln Road façade was renovated in a Streamline Moderne style by L. Murray Dixon in 1938.
Larkin said the board approved a partial demolition, renovation and restoration of the building in 2017, but the project hasn’t made progress, and the property has remained vacant for five years.
If the board approves The H.wood Group’s application, the firm has proposed a 198-seat Nice Guy restaurant that includes a 54-seat dining room, a 14-seat bar and a private dining room. The restaurant would occupy the entire building, which extends to 947 Lincoln Road, an address that housed Hofbrau Munchen until 2019.
Jose L. Gomez, a Miami-based architect at Beilinson Gomez Architects PA, has been selected as the project’s designer. Current architectural renderings show the restaurant aims to feature a show kitchen that’s visible from the Lincoln Road-facing window to attract pedestrians.
Larkin emphasized that the proposed renovation adheres to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties with original features preserved and the existing stucco painted in a city-approved Dove White. The restaurant would also utilize removable window coverings to provide patrons privacy, so existing windows can remain intact.
In addition to the venue’s design, the restaurant would be built to adhere to the city’s climate change and storm resilience criteria, which includes the installation of hurricane-proof impact windows and elevated mechanical systems.
Larkin stated the opening of The Nice Guy would add “a sophisticated dining destination to the corner of Lincoln Road and Michigan Avenue.” He noted The H.wood Group has an established presence in Miami with the company’s Delilah supper club in Brickell.
The Business Journal reached out to Larkin and Brian Toll, managing partner at The H.wood Group for comment.
Lincoln Road is an eight-block-long pedestrian mall that’s home to more than 200 retailers and restaurants. The Lincoln Road Business Improvement District estimates the open-air neighborhood welcomes 8.1 million visitors per year.
