10 August 27 - september 2, 2026 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | chef Kwame Onwuachi overseeing a West Indian and Afro-Caribbean menu built for a restaurant that moves from dinner into a late-night party. The Miami location’s Instagram bio now says “closed for summer.” Its website still lists regular hours from Wednesday through Sunday and sends diners to a reservation page. The restaurant has not said when the closure began or when it expects to reopen. La Grande Boucherie opened in January 2025 at 81 Washington Ave. The massive Pari- sian-style restaurant marked The Group Hospi- tality’s first Florida venture and its seventh Boucherie location. Its website now says the restaurant is taking a “brief seasonal pause” for summer, and OpenT- able lists the Miami Beach location as temporarily closed. The closure has created some confusion around Miami Spice. The Greater Miami Conven- tion & Visitors Bureau lists La Grande Boucherie as a 2026 participant, and its South Beach dining guide still advertises brunch and dinner menus there. La Grande Boucherie has not said whether it plans to reopen before the promotion ends Sept. 30. Miami restaurants have tried this spin before. New Times reported on a wave of seasonal clo- sures last Aug., when several restaurants an- nounced pauses without firm return dates. Lucky Cat by Gordon Ramsay closed in Aug. 2025 for what it called a moment to reset. The Gordon Ramsay Restaurants site still describes the Miami location as “temporarily closed until further notice.” Sereia pressed pause in Coconut Grove in May 2025 to “rest, recharge.” A year later, Manoli, a 140-seat Greek restaurant from chef Emmanouil Aslanoglou, claimed its former Main Highway space. Byblos closed in July 2025 while the Royal Palm underwent renovations. The hotel reopened in July after a renovation of more than $100 mil- lion, but OpenTable still describes Byblos as closed for renovations until November 1, 2026. Its website, like Las’ Lap’s, still lists regular hours. Those earlier closures make the missing dates harder to ignore. As of Aug. 18, Las’ Lap and La Grande Boucherie remain closed, and neither has said when it will return. Las’ Lap. 2216 Park Ave., Miami Beach; laslap- mia.com. Temporarily closed for summer. OLEE FOWLER ▼ IN MEMORIAM THE SONG IS OVER On Tuesday, Aug. 18, longtime customers re- turned to Hard Rock Cafe Miami for one last piña colada in a hurricane glass. After nearly 33 years overlooking Biscayne Bay, the Hard Rock Cafe at Bayside Marketplace closed Wednesday, Aug. 19, ending a run that be- gan on Sept. 21, 1993. News of the closure first broke in June, when a WARN notice filed with the state revealed the restaurant at 401 Biscayne Blvd. would permanently close and lay off 117 em- ployees. In the hours leading up to its final day, cus- tomers came back to say goodbye, filling Google with final photos from a restaurant that had be- come as much a part of Bayside as the waterfront itself. “Thank you so much, team Hard Rock Mi- ami,” one customer wrote alongside photos from the restaurant. “You did an amazing job. We’re going to miss you. I wish you all the best wher- ever you go.” Another shared photos of friends raising piña coladas in the classic hurricane glasses Hard Rock became famous for. “Saying goodbye to our Hard Rock Cafe Bayside,” the customer wrote. “It’s a shame they’re closing this Bayside icon.” Hard Rock Cafe spent decades serving burg- ers, frozen cocktails, and plenty of logo T-shirts in one of Bayside’s most recognizable spaces. In- side, walls were covered in rock memorabilia. On top of its roof, its enormous steel electric guitar be- came part of the Biscayne Bay wa- terfront. Recent review- ers praised the restaurant’s staff and described it as a classic experi- ence they would miss. Customers particularly noted the employees’ kindness and a manager who regularly walked through the din- ing room to check on tables. Others were less sentimental. Some recent re- views called the restaurant outdated, rundown, and neglected. One customer complained about the limited beer selection and prices, calling it a “tourist trap.” But for many longtime customers, its time- capsule quality was part of its charm. For more than three decades, it remained one of those places locals could count on. However, some of the most sentimental good- byes have actually come from the people who once worked there. Former employees have been sharing old photos and stories from the Miami cafe on Face- book, including snapshots from its first Christmas party in December 1993 and gatherings of the original opening staff. Even more heartwarming, there’s an entire Facebook group dedicated to former employees from 1993 to 2000 called “HRC Miami Ex HardRockers (Opening 1993 -2000).” The photos offer a glimpse at another side of Hard Rock Cafe’s 33-year history. For the people who worked there, the res- taurant wasn’t simply a place selling burgers and hurricane glasses to tourists. It was where coworkers became lifelong friends, celebrated milestones, and built memories together. A for- mer employee wrote in the group, “I guess nothing lasts forever. Certainly had a lot of miles on that floor and a lot of good times with a lot of good people. My memories of that place will last forever.” It’s easy to judge a restaurant at the end of its life by outdated decor, high prices, or what went downhill. Those reviews don’t capture the 33 years of history embedded in its walls or the thousands of people who spent pieces of their lives there. The restaurant may be an enormous global chain, but for the employees sharing those old photos, its walls hold nothing but great memories. The restaurant stayed busy through its final Las’ Lap Miami Two major Miami Beach restaurants, La Grande Boucherie and Las’ Lap, have suddenly closed for summer, adding to a growing list of closures. THE RESTAURANT MAY BE AN ENORMOUS GLOBAL CHAIN, BUT FOR THE EMPLOYEES SHARING THOSE OLD PHOTOS, ITS WALLS HOLD NOTHING BUT GREAT MEMORIES. Taste Test from p9
