When it opens, Casadonna will signify the first-time partnership between Tao — a part of Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp., finest recognized for its namesake pan-Asian restaurant that opened in 2000 — and Groot, which owns and operates a number of Miami institutions, together with LIV nightclub, Komodo, Swan, Papi Steak, Key Club, and Gekko.
According to Groot Hospitality vp Chris Cuomo, Casadonna is a undertaking that is been years within the making.
“There’s a longstanding private relationship between Dave [Grutman] and Noah [Tepperberg], and that is one thing each teams have mentioned doing for fairly a while now,” Cuomo tells New Times.
When the long-lasting historic house grew to become obtainable in 2019, each hospitality veterans knew it was the best match to launch an idea providing their mixed imaginative and prescient.
“We knew we wished a historic house in Miami, and relating to location, there is not any higher place to be than on the water,” says Cuomo.
Described as a coastal Italian-inspired idea, the restaurant can be housed on the primary ground of Miami’s Women’s Club, a historic five-story constructing at 1737 N. Bayshore Dr. within the metropolis’s Edgewater neighborhood.
After ready for greater than a decade of reconstruction and complex refurbishing of its 1926 historic clubhouse, the Miami Woman’s Club — now in its 123rd 12 months of service — returned to the historic house in August 2022. As such, the Casadonna identify is an homage to the constructing’s longstanding occupants, a wedding of the Italian phrases casa and donna that mixed translate to “home of the girl.”
In July 2022, the constructing additionally grew to become house to Klaw, a restaurant situated on the fourth ground. Leasing the 2 buildings’ restaurant areas offers earnings to the Miami Woman’s Club, with funds earmarked to help with future upkeep prices and repair operations.
Today, the Mediterranean Revival constructing has been refurbished to a lot of its unique fashion, together with the parapet roof adorned with stone balustrade, 1926 Italian lighting, and oak flooring on the Club’s third ground.
The expansive 20,000-square-foot house and waterfront setting are additionally a part of the explanation Groot and Tao selected a coastal Italian theme, which they imagine is the right match in each delicacies and design.
Designer Ken Fulk envisioned a green-dominated house as a nod to the location’s legacy and a mirrored image of contemporary Miami tastes. Design highlights embrace an indoor-outdoor movement (together with a coated, high-ceilinged atrium), paned and vaulted glass home windows, and the house’s unique gates and chandeliers.
At Casadonna, the aim is to showcase each teams’ means to supply upscale fare in a novel setting, Cuomo explains.
“Both teams are well-known for his or her nightlife elements, however our aim is to spotlight their culinary prowess,” says Cuomo. “We’ve spent practically a 12 months constructing the menu to create a very wonderful expertise.”
Although dishes have not but been revealed, the group has tapped Tao Group’s former Lavo Singapore government chef Michael Gucfa to helm the kitchen at Casadonna. Alongside Groot culinary vp Josh Brown and Tao’s chief culinary workplace Ralph Scamardella, the three males have spent greater than eight months collaborating to create what Cuomo says can be an distinctive culinary expertise for Miami.
Riviera-style Italian cooking would be the focus of Casadonna’s menu, which can characteristic contemporary native and imported merchandise to create quite a few signature handcrafted dishes. Think conventional recipes discovered within the coastal cities of Naples, Taormina, Bari, Positano, and Gaeta created with a up to date twist and supplied alongside a bespoke cocktail menu and in depth wine checklist.
“It’s been arduous conserving this below wraps for therefore lengthy. We’re all very excited to carry this idea to Miami and Edgewater,” sums up Cuomo.
Casadonna. 1737 N. Bayshore Dr., Miami; casadonnamiami.com. Opening summer season 2023.