Walk Miracle Mile this month and you'll notice two things happening at once. Tables are full at the new spots that have opened. And one storefront at 111 Palermo Avenue, the one announced for a summer opening in a Da Silva Hospitality press release in June, is still dark.
The contrast between places that have opened and those still to come is part of the story on this block right now.
What's Open Now
Start at 98 Miracle Mile, where chef Shingo Akikuni, whose omakase restaurant Shingo holds a Michelin star, opened a 24-seat café called Stand in June. It's a daytime spot, sandos on house-baked milk bread, matcha, bento boxes, the kind of place you duck into between errands rather than plan an evening around. Akikuni has said the plan is to flip it into a nighttime izakaya this fall, which means the café you know now may not be the same room by winter.
A few doors down at 100 Miracle Mile, Palm Beach chef Clay Conley didn't open one restaurant, he opened three. The full-service Buccan with its wood-burning oven, a sushi-focused spot called Imoto, and a grab-and-go Buccan Sandwich Shop that's already become a legitimate lunch option for people who work in the offices nearby. Three concepts in one address is an unusual bet, and it tells you something about how confident an outside operator is in the Mile's daytime foot traffic right now.
Over on Alhambra Circle, Casa Vialetto reopened in late May, giving that stretch back a restaurant it had been missing.
None of these are speculative. They're seating people tonight.
Still to Come
Then there's Zuccaly.
Da Silva Hospitality, the family behind neighborhood favorite Zucca since 2017, announced in June that its first Italian food hall would open "this summer" at the Plaza Coral Gables. Six stations across 8,000 square feet: Roman-style pizza al taglio from a station called LaBiga, fresh pasta and risotto, a live-wood grill, a salad counter, a gelato and pastry counter, and a gastro market stocked with wagyu carpaccio and burrata. Corporate chef Manuel Garcia, who has run Zucca's kitchen for nine years and cooked in Michelin-starred kitchens in France, was named as the one overseeing it. In a Community Newspapers report, Da Silva called the project part of turning the Plaza into "the new heart of the city."
Summer came and went. By late July, coverage of the project was still describing it as having "no firm opening date." The Plaza's own tenant directory still lists it as "coming soon." A community news item dated September 1 was still writing about the space in future tense, describing what the stations "will feature" rather than what they're currently serving.
Zuccaly has not opened yet.
This isn't a knock on the project. Food halls with six working stations, a full bar program, and a 200-seat indoor-outdoor floor plan take longer to open than a single restaurant, and an 8,000-square-foot build inside a mixed-use development like the Plaza has more moving pieces than a standalone storefront. For now, the Mile's smaller operators, including those with 24 seats or a single dining room, are serving guests while diners await the food hall's opening.
Why That Timing Matters Right Now
Here's where the calendar gets tight. Miami Spice, the county-wide prix-fixe program now in its 25th year, ends September 30. For the past two months it's been the reason a lot of Gables residents tried a restaurant they'd been meaning to get to, at $40 for lunch or brunch, $50 or $65 for dinner, with a new premium "Reserve" tier at $95 this year. After the program ends, participating restaurants will no longer offer Miami Spice menus.
Because it has not opened, Zuccaly will not participate in this year's Miami Spice program.
What's Actually on the Calendar
A few things worth putting in your phone if you're already in the neighborhood:
- Giralda Live, the monthly first-Friday street party on Giralda Plaza, runs 7 to 11 p.m. with live music from 8 to 10 p.m. It's the closest thing the Gables has to a standing Friday-night habit, and it doesn't require a reservation anywhere.
- Giralda in Bloom, the second half of this year's Giralda Sky Series, went up over the plaza on August 14 and runs through October. It's a canopy of hundreds of flower-patterned umbrellas from Impact Plan, the same designers behind the original Umbrella Sky Project in Portugal. In a Miami Today report, Coral Gables economic development director Belkys Perez said the installation is meant to let people "experience downtown, support our local businesses and enjoy one of Coral Gables' signature gathering spaces in a unique way." It's worth the walk before it comes down.
- Miami Spice closes out its 25th anniversary run on September 30. If there's a restaurant on your list you haven't tried at the discounted menu, this is the window.
None of these require planning a trip. They're what's already happening on a block most Gables residents pass through weekly anyway.
The Actual Shape of This Fall
Several new or reopened places are serving guests in Coral Gables this fall. Stand, the Buccan concepts, and Casa Vialetto are open, while Zuccaly has not opened yet.
That's not a reason to write it off. Food halls this size tend to open eventually, and when Zuccaly does, it'll add something the Gables genuinely doesn't have yet, a multi-station Italian market under one roof. For now, diners can choose among the restaurants already serving guests.
If you're already living this stretch of Coral Gables and want to talk about what any of this means for your own street or your own plans, Randi Connell knows this block as well as anyone. Schedule a consultation whenever you're ready.
