13 July 2-8, 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 | ▼ VIRGINIA KEY ON THE ROCKS The question former Miami Commissioner Ken Russell posted to social media recently — “Do you want Gramps Getaway replaced by a ‘Mega Mall Yacht Marina?’” — went viral on TikTok and Instagram, to the dismay of hundreds of followers and fans of the restaurant. The Miami City Commission voted unanimously on June 11 to send a referendum to voters on whether Virginia Key, LLC should get a 45-year lease to redevelop 27.6 acres at 3301 Rickenbacker Cswy. The waterfront property on Virginia Key houses the Rickenbacker Marina and, sitting in the middle of it, Adam Gersten’s Gramps Getaway. Gramps Getaway opened in late 2023 in the former Whiskey Joe’s space near the Rusty Pelican. Gersten, who also owned the original Gramps in Wynwood and Pizza Tropical, built the water- front outpost around a chikee hut and open-air tables with skyline views. Chef James McNeal runs the kitchen, with smash burgers and charred broccoli with butter- milk ranch among the favorites. Frozen cocktails and Palomas at the bar, and guests can dock di- rectly at the marina. It’s been an instant hit since its debut. Virginia Key, LLC is a joint venture between Miami Beach-based RCI Marine Group, led by Robert Christoph Jr., and Dallas-based Suntex Marinas. The proposal would redevelop the Rick- enbacker Marina and the adjacent Marine Sta- dium Marina into a facility with 750 dry slips, 162 wet slips, 13,000 square feet of commercial space, and 630 parking spaces. The Marine Stadium, designed in 1963 by Cu- ban immigrant architect Hilario Candela, has been abandoned since Hurricane Andrew. The company estimates an $80 million private in- vestment; the city would collect a minimum an- nual rent of $2.2 million, roughly $204 million over the initial term, plus 6% of gross revenues. The lease could run up to 75 years with renewal options. None of the five commissioners wanted to make this vote. “I think this is a bad deal for the city,” Commissioner Miguel Angel Gabela told the Miami Herald. “If I could vote without a liability...I would vote this thing down today and say new con- tracts for everybody.” Commissioner Chris- tine King questioned whether the commis- sion was even legally required to act imme- diately. They voted “yes” anyway because the courts said they had to. Virginia Key, LLC, ranked first in a city RFP in 2015 and again in 2017, but prior commissions blocked it both times, prompting a lawsuit in 2021. In 2023, Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Alan Fine ruled the city had acted “arbi- trarily and capriciously” and ordered a referen- dum. Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal upheld that ruling. City Attorney George Wysong warned commissioners that further delay risked contempt proceedings. “There is nothing else that can be done,” Wysong said. Aabad Melwani, whose family has operated the Rickenbacker Marina for more than 40 years, said the terms are outdated. “Values have skyrocketed. The costs of this project have at least doubled, and [Virginia Key, LLC’s] proposed rents are outdated and far below market. No one here is proud of this deal,” Melwani said. He expects “vigorous community opposition” before November. On social media, Russell closed by saying, “Campaign is on.” Gramps Getaway. 3301 Rickenbacker Cswy. Virginia Key; grampsgetaway.co. OLEE FOWLER ▼ DOWNTOWN MIAMI CLOSING TIME Another local landmark is counting down its final days. The Hard Rock Cafe at Bayside Marketplace is officially shutting down. A WARN notice filed with the state on June 20 shows the restaurant at 401 Biscayne Blvd. will permanently close on Au- gust 19, laying off 117 employees: 34 servers, 19 line cooks, 12 bartenders, nine bussers, and man- agement. The café opened on September 21, 1993, and spent 33 years selling pricey burgers and logo T- shirts from a waterfront space in Bayside, the tourist mecca and outdoor mall on Biscayne Bay. When the WARN notice circulated on @what- layoff’s Threads last week and hit 25,000 views in under a day, the comments spanned from ex-em- ployees with fond memories to people surprised the place was still open. “That location in Bayside Miami has been dead for a long time. I’m sur- prised it didn’t close sooner,” one commenter wrote. Another remembered working there for a decade, fresh out of college. A third, who trans- ferred from Orlando, lasted two weeks. “It was al- ready old and dusty as hell 20 years ago when I worked there briefly,” he wrote. Miami isn’t even the only Hard Rock Cafe in Florida shutting down this year. The Key West location closed in May after nearly 30 years in business. Hard Rock Cafe Pi- geon Forge, Tennessee, filed its own WARN no- tice the day before Miami’s, with 61 jobs expected to be lost by August 23. Chicago’s location shut down in March 2025 after nearly 40 years. Pitts- burgh in February. Paris in November 2024. More than a dozen locations globally have closed in the past two years. The closures reflect how Hard Rock Interna- tional makes money now. In 2007, the Seminole Tribe of Florida bought the brand for just under $1 billion, when the com- pany was struggling during the Great Recession. The Seminoles built a casino-and-hotel empire under the brand, and now Hard Rock International operates 15 casinos and 36 hotels worldwide. In 2025, it generated $7.9 billion in revenue, up a third from two years prior, according to The Econ- omist. The Hard Rock Bet gambling app, launched in Florida in 2023, is now live in ten states. Hard Rock International has not issued a statement on the Miami closure or whether em- ployees will be relocated. Hard Rock Cafe Miami. 401 Biscayne Blvd., Mi- ami; 305-377-3110; cafe.hardrock.com. Closing August 19, 2026. OLEE FOWLER “I THINK THIS IS A BAD DEAL FOR THE CITY,” COMMISSIONER MIGUEL ANGEL GABELA TOLD THE MIAMI HERALD. you can hear the jazz music floating through the lobby, which looks a bit like Old Havana. The giant windows look out at the palms on Ocean Drive, and it feels like a movie set. There is rotating art on the walls, comfortable chairs, and that con- stant, soft noise of martinis being stirred. It is home to the longest-running live music series on the Beach, with musicians playing every night from about 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. There is no cover charge and no minimum spend, which is honestly a rare thing to find in Miami these days. At The Betsy Ho- tel, 1440 Ocean Dr., Miami Beach; 305-531- 6100; thebetsyhotel.com. Rum Bar at The Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne Rum Bar is in the lobby of The Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, which they just remodeled. It manages to be both casual and fancy at the same time. The menu has drinks like “Tamarind Highballs” and “Grenada Gimlets,” plus six other drinks inspired by islands such as Cuba and Jamaica. There’s also an extensive rum selection for sampling, which honestly makes lingering here dangerously easy for me. But the real reason people keep coming back can’t be listed on a menu. Anthony and Alex have spent more than a decade behind this bar, making guests feel like regulars within minutes. In a city obsessed with what’s new, Rum Bar quietly reminds you how valuable familiarity can feel. At The Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, 455 Grand Bay Dr., Key Biscayne; 305-365-6704; rumbarkeybiscayne.com. Séptimo at the Four Seasons Hotel Miami Séptimo is the newest bar on the block, and I already have a full-blown love affair. It brings old-world cocktail glamour to the seventh floor of the Four Seasons Hotel in Brickell. Led by beverage director Jacopo Rosito, who many still remember from Le Sirenuse at the Four Seasons Surf Club, the bar pulls inspira- tion from late 19th and early 20th-century cocktail culture with a level of precision that somehow still feels effortless and cool. The standout is the “Tomato & Vine,” a clarified mix of olive oil-infused Grey Goose vodka, tomato water, and basil syrup that drinks like a liquid cap- rese salad in the best possible way. Elsewhere, timeless classics get ele- gant remixes through drinks like the “Oyster Martini,” “Miel Old Fashioned,” and “Lavender Man- hattan.” And honestly, the bites alone justify the elevator ride up: “5J Jamón Croquetas,” chicken nuggets topped with caviar and crème fraîche, and a house Cubano sandwich this boy wholeheartedly approves of. At the Four Seasons Hotel Miami, 1435 Brickell Ave., Miami; 305-358-3535; foursea- sons.com. [email protected] | TASTE TEST | ▼ Café Café Gramps Getaway photo Beloved Miami waterfront spot Gramps Getaway is at stake after commissioners sent a referendum to voters to redevelop the property and marina. Biltmore Hotel photo Cheers! from p12 An old fashioned from AZ.85, the hidden speakeasy inside the Biltmore Hotel.
