They don’t all succeed: Schwartz’s Cypress Tavern will close next month
News that chef Michael Schwartz will close his well-received Cypress Tavern in the Design District came out of the blue.
The chef/restaurateur announced on his blog March 21 that he will close the four-year-old restaurant on April 30. It opened to rave reviews as The Cypress Room in 2013, from a 3.5 star (Excellent) review in the Miami Herald to being named among Bon Apetit’s 50 Best New Restaurants. He renovated the restaurant in 2015, rebranded it Cypress Tavern, and a re-review last year netted another 3.5-star Herald review.
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The restaurant continued rolling even after its sous chef, Michael Beltran, left in the summer of 2015 to open his well-received Coconut Grove restaurant, Ariete.
Ultimately, rents, which have doomed so many Miami restaurants in areas such as the Design District, that become desirable, may have been to blame.
“It’s never easy to close the book on a project you feel genuinely proud of, but our lease term is ending, and it’s time to move on,” Schwartz wrote on his blog. “I owe so much to the teams over the years that have nurtured this place and contributed to it becoming so much more than we ever could have imagined. I’m humbled by the support we have received from our guests. No decision like this is ever easy, but for us, it’s the right one.”
Schwartz has been on a tear as of late, building on his Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink to open several Harry’s Pizzeria locations (with more planned well into 2018) and the new Fi’lia, which earned a 3.5-star Miami Herald review last week.
This story was originally published March 23, 2017 at 12:03 AM.