9 April 23-29, 2026 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com NEW TIMES | CONTENTS | LETTERS | NEWS | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | CAFE | MUSIC | MONTH XX–MONTH XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | CONTENTS | LETTERS | RIPTIDE | METRO | NIGHT+DAY | STAGE | ART | FILM | CAFE | MUSIC | Open House Miami restaurateur Matt Kuscher is building affordable housing above his own restaurant in Wynwood. BY VICTORIA STANZIONE A s rents rise across Miami, one restaurateur is testing a differ- ent approach, building work- force housing above his own business. At the edge of Wynwood, where glass tow- ers seemingly rise quicker than murals painted, there’s a narrow, flatiron-shaped building that looks like it has refused to leave. It has outlasted hurricanes, decades of rein- vention, and the steady transformation of the neighborhood around it. Not long ago, it was close to being demolished. When Matt Kuscher bought the building in 2022, he wasn’t just trying to bring back Kush, his long-running burger spot. He had already watched rising rents force out businesses he built himself. This time, he wanted to hold onto something. What he didn’t expect was that the project would grow into something far beyond a restaurant. The idea started with a problem he kept seeing play out in real time. In one instance, a reliable employee without a car was suddenly priced out of her home. Kuscher and his di- rector of operations spent days driving around looking for “For Rent” signs, trying to secure her a place nearby. They eventually did, but the process was exhausting. This stuck with him. The people keeping Miami’s hospitality industry running were being pushed further and further away from it. It wasn’t an isolated situation. A few years earlier, Kuscher had started thinking about what a solution might look like. He developed a small four-unit project called Lemon City Villas, filling the space with color and artwork from local artists. The timing ultimately did not work out for his staff to move in, but the idea stayed with him. Housing, he realized, was not just a personal problem inside his business. It was structural. Inside that same historic building at the entrance to Wynwood, now, Kuscher is trying something different. When Kush reopens later this year, it will sit beneath ten micro-units reserved for workforce housing, a project developed in partnership with the Omni Community Re- development Agency. Eight of the units will be priced for residents earning 80 percent of the area median income, with the remaining two set at 100 percent, all under a 50-year af- fordability agreement. More recently, the project received addi- tional support from the Public Benefit Trust Fund, which helped bring the affordable housing component to completion. The building itself has lived many lives. Originally constructed in 1926 by attorney Murray Dubbin, it once housed apartments above a neighborhood pharmacy. At one point, it operated as a brothel known as Dol- ly’s Café. It has even been linked to infa- mous tenants. Through it all, it remained a fixture at the entrance to Wynwood, long before the neighborhood became what it is today. For Kuscher, preserving the structure was part of the point. As new development continues to reshape Wynwood, often prioritizing scale over conti- nuity, projects like this one move in a differ- ent direction. Instead of replacing the past, the build- ing has been re- stored with the intention of serving the present. Up- stairs, where apart- ments once existed, they will exist again. The focus, how- ever, is not just on the building. It is on the people who will live inside it. “This project is for all hospitality workers, not just my own,” Kuscher said. “Hospitality is the lifeblood of Miami. If the people who service this industry can’t afford to live here, we will lose our city’s primary industry.” Although the idea is simple, it is rare in practice. Instead of long commutes from dis- tant neighborhoods, residents can walk to work. Instead of spending hours in traffic, they will have more time in their day. The shift is not just financial, but practical. The project also extends beyond housing. Kuscher is currently looking to fill additional retail spaces in the building with concepts that align with the surrounding community, including a small tattoo shop and a bar oper- ated by a first-time owner. His goal is to pro- vide an opportunity for someone to enter the industry with mentorship and limited up- front capital. He also plans to partner with organiza- tions such as Pace Center for Girls and the Overtown Youth Center to offer weeklong in- ternships for students interested in careers in hospitality. A year from now, Kuscher says success looks like a fully occupied building filled with hospitality workers who are part of the neighborhood they serve. On their days off, they can stay in it. Taken together, the effort reflects a broader approach to what development can look like in a city like Miami. Not just building more, but building in a way that keeps the people who sustain the city within it. Kush itself is expected to reopen later this year, with an expanded concept that includes a full liquor program and a menu drawing from past restaurants. But for Kuscher, the project upstairs car- ries a different kind of weight. If it works, he hopes it does not stop here. In a neighbor- hood where change often feels inevitable, the question is not just what gets built next. It is who gets to stay. Kush. 2003 N. Miami Ave., Miami; kushhos- pitality.com. Expected late 2026 or early 2027. [email protected] ▼ Café Café Kush Hospitality photo When Kush reopens later this year, it will sit beneath ten micro-units reserved for workforce housing. “IF THE PEOPLE WHO SERVICE THIS INDUSTRY CAN’T AFFORD TO LIVE HERE, WE WILL LOSE OUR CITY’S PRIMARY INDUSTRY.” ▼ SUNSET HARBOR TU CASA Miami’s favorite Venezuelan sourdough spot has finally made its Miami Beach debut perma- nent. Caracas Bakery has just opened its doors inside Harbour Club in Sunset Harbor. The partnership brings the bakery’s popular Vene- zuelan-inspired baked goods to the ground floor of the members-only social club. The new spot, founded by James Beard- nominated bakers, is open during the day when the club’s upstairs restaurant, a’Riva, is closed. At the new digs, guests can expect a re- laxed, ground-floor café experience that is open to the general public. However, Harbour Club members will still maintain exclusive ac- cess to the menu from the club’s second floor throughout the day. In the mornings, diners can expect the full lineup of staples that built the bakery’s follow- ing at its MiMo location. This includes their sourdough-based breakfast sandwiches, fritta- tas, yogurt bowls, and a variety of toasts topped with avocado, salmon, or mushrooms. At midday, the space transitions into Casa Caracas. This is the brand’s new lunch opera- tion that swaps pastries for heavier, wood- grilled proteins and a new cocktail program. The kitchen will be turning out hearty plates for lunch. Some include a piri piri half chicken marinated in fermented Calabrian pepper and prawns sautéed in garlic and lemon. Other high- lights include a hanger steak served with gua- sacaca or harissa aioli. Oh, and not to mention the “Massimo Bisanzio” cold pasta tossed with cherry tomatoes, basil, and pine nuts. The afternoon lineup is rounded out by sea- sonal sides, salads, and desserts like affogato and rich chocolate mousse. For Brazón and his family, the Sunset Har- bour expansion is about more than just scaling the business. “From day one, Caracas Bakery was never just about bread – it’s about building a place people feel part of,” says Jesús Brazon, founder of Caracas Bakery. “For me, Harbour Club just made sense right away. Opening here, and bringing Casa Caracas into it, lets us grow without losing what we are – while being part of a neighborhood we’ve always respected.” The move follows a broader citywide trend of successful independent brands partnering with larger venues to share the burden of Mi- ami’s rising overhead costs. But for Sunset Harbour residents, it means one of the city’s best bakeries is now within walking distance. Caracas Bakery at Harbour Club. 1916 Bay Rd., Miami Beach; caracasbakery.com. OLEE FOWLER ▼ SURFSIDE WE THE BEST The best hotel bar in the United States is not in a historic New York City boutique hotel, an Aspen lodge, or a storied Chicago building. According to a major national publication, it can be found all the way down in Surfside, Florida. | TASTE TEST | >> p10
