10 August 20-26, 2026 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS | ▼ BAL HARBOR CLOSING TIME Another major South Florida restaurant has apparently closed its doors without warning, following the shocking closure of Yardbird in South Beach. Hillstone, the wildly popular restaurant overlooking the Bal Harbor Shops, perma- nently closed on Monday, Aug. 10, after din- ers with reservations began receiving phone calls informing them the restaurant had ceased operations. One of those diners, Miami TikTok creator MarkJax22, shared a voicemail from the restaurant saying: “Wanted to reach out personally and let you know that we have permanently decided to close our operations…I see you have a res- ervation tonight, and we will not be able to accommodate you. I’d be more than happy to make a reservation for you at one of our other locations, North Miami or Coral Gables. And I wanted to say thank you very much for your patronage and business over the years.” The voicemail appears to confirm that the closure is permanent. Moments later, New Times found further confirmation on Hill- stone Bal Harbour’s website. “Hillstone at Bal Harbour has closed,” a message on the website reads. “We would like to thank our guests who have chosen to dine with us over the years. We hope to have the opportunity to serve you at one of our other restaurants.” By Monday afternoon, multiple diners told New Times they were unable to make reser- vations at the Bal Harbour location and were instead being directed to Hillstone’s other South Florida restaurants. Around 5 p.m., a New Times reader at Bal Harbour Shops reported seeing restaurant employees gathered outside the closed loca- tion. Through the windows, the reader said, people could be seen inside appearing to in- ventory the restaurant’s assets. New Times has reached out to Hillstone Restaurant Group for additional information about the sudden closure, but has not re- ceived a response by publication time. The closure comes as a shock for Miami’s dining scene. For years, Hillstone has been one of the hardest reservations to score in South Flor- ida. The Bal Harbour location, perched above the luxury shops with views overlooking Col- lins Avenue, became a favorite meeting place for everyone from local business executives to tourists and longtime regulars. Known for its famously consistent service, French dip, sushi, spinach and artichoke dip, and Hawai- ian rib-eye, the restaurant developed an al- most cult-like following. The Hillstone brand itself has earned a fiercely loyal customer base nationwide, mak- ing the apparent closure of one of its flagship South Florida restaurants especially surpris- ing. The company continues to operate nearby locations in Coral Gables and North Miami. The news arrives just days after the unex- pected closure of Yardbird Southern Table & Bar in Miami Beach, another longtime South Florida dining institution that shut its doors with little public notice. Now, questions remain about what hap- pened at Hillstone. Were employees given ad- vance notice? What prompted the sudden decision? And what comes next for one of the most coveted restaurant spaces in Bal Har- bour? It seems that one of the latest Google re- views was posted on Sunday, Aug. 9, by an em- ployee at the Rolex store within Bal Harbour Shops. This means even nearby businesses may be as shocked as longtime customers are. Hillstone at Bal Harbour Shops. 9700 Collins Ave, Bal Harbour, at Bal Harbour Shops; hillstonebalharbour.com. Now closed. NICOLE LOPEZ-ALVAR ▼ LITTLE HAITI LESSON LEARNED On Aug. 5, a federal judge who had tempo- rarily blocked the Trump administration from ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for as many as 350,000 Haitians living in the United States officially lifted that or- | TASTE TEST | ▼ Café Provided by Hillstone Restaurant Hillstone at Bal Harbour Shops in Miami has abruptly closed on August 10, 2026, after 11 years at the mall, shocking longtime customers.
