Wynwood, South Beach, Miami Lakes? A new beer garden wants to make this suburb cool
After years of helping build several of Miami hottest bars and clubs from Sweet Liberty to Eleven, Mauricio Lacayo wondered: Why can’t Miami Lakes get some of the cool new things?
His Miami Lakes neighbor Julio Cabrera, the cocktail master behind the acclaimed Little Havana lounge Café La Trova, thought the same thing. Fortunately the city’s developers and major land owners, the Graham family, felt the time was right to finally fit Miami Lakes with more than another chain restaurant.
Chela’s Beer Garden, which opened Feb. 11, is a bold new experiment between some of Miami’s top hospitality pros, testing whether the people of Miami Lakes are indeed tired of schlepping across the county for a cocktail and a vibe.
Lacayo, Cabrera and Purdy Lounge founder Dan Binkiewicz partnered to take over the defunct On The Border Mexican restaurant at the mouth of Miami Lakes’ Main Street. They hope to turn it into the next “it” spot, if not for tourists, for residents in the heart of northwest Miami-Dade’s suburbia.
“This is the first thing of its kind out here,” Cabrera said. “Not everything has to be franchises. There has to be a mix of craft things.”
Chela’s, technically a six-month pop up on property the Grahams own, takes advantage of diners’ interest to go out during the pandemic but not be indoors. While there is socially distant seating inside, the restaurant opens to a large courtyard and green space, where the owners will have music and beer-hall style games like cornhole and giant Jenga.
Lacayo, who co-owns the nearby The Bend liquor lounge with another partner in this project, Landy Lamas, built the first craft beer bar in Miami Lakes. They handpick the craft beer and natural wines. Meanwhile Cabrera, a Cuban immigrant who brought the Cuban cantinero mixology culture to La Trova, taps into his two years as beverage director in Cancún’s Grand Fiesta Americana resort, where he met Bernstein, who ran the hotel’s restaurant.
“I feel like we’re doing something good for the community,” Lacayo said. “Word spread faster than I thought it would. It’s good to know this is something people are looking forward to.”
Cabrera, who GQ singled out in naming La Trova one of its best new restaurants in America in 2019, is an aficionado of Mexican culture, as well as its tequilas and mezcals. (He named his daughter Guadalupe after Mexico’s Our Lady of Guadalupe.) His group at La Trova was named Best American Bar Team in 2020 by the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation. Expect an equally exceptional cocktail menu with his twists on Mexican classics.
For the food, Lacayo brought in his longtime friend Daniel Gonzalez, who owns the HotLime Mexican and Peruvian fusion spot at Mia Miami food hall in the Design District. A selection of tacos and ceviches highlight the menu.
Members of the Graham family visited La Trova in 2019 and had been talking with the pair since about bringing something similar to Miami Lakes. The trio hope if suburbia responds Chela’s, that six-month pop up could become permanent.
Chela’s Beer Garden
Address: 15301 NW 67th Ave., Miami Lakes
Hours: 4-11 p.m. Thursday – Friday; 11 a.m. to midnight Saturday and Sunday
More info: ChelasBeerGarden.com
This story was originally published February 12, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
