Food

‘The heartbeat of the city’s music scene’: Hot new weekend venue now open in Miami

By Connie Ogle

Updated July 18, 2023 12:07 PM

Musicians perform at the opening weekend of ZeyZey, a new music and cultural gathering spot in Little River. World Red Eye

Miami’s newest indoor-and-outdoor weekend gathering spot lies under a huge banyan tree and behind a simple wood gate in Miami’s Little River neighborhood.

Cross the threshold, and you’ll enter ZeyZey, a new space for music and culture (food and drink, too).

Wander through that wooden gate, and the first thing you’ll stumble across is a small gazebo where natural wine and craft beer are sold. There’s a bungalow with white walls where DJs will spin. It’s also home to a vinyl listening room, with more than 3,000 records.

The large backyard area, under a huge banyan tree, includes a shipping container with a full cocktail bar and a stage for live performances. There are four food vendors and three private lounge areas.

Named for the word happiness in Iku — the language spoken by an indigenous community of the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta Colombia — ZeyZey is the creation of from Grassfed Culture Hospitality, the team that is also behind Chef Sebastian Vargas’ Michelin-starred restaurant Los Felix and its sister restaurant Krus Kitchen.

The banyan tree that acts as the centerpiece at ZeyZey in Little River. Vanessa Diaz

The venue, which will be open Friday and Saturday nights, will host local performers and DJs in a partnership with Isabella Acker of Tigre Sounds, a Miami-based indie record label and music platform.

The music will be wide-ranging, Acker said. Expect Afro-Cuban funk, Brazilian disco, salsa, cumbia, electronic fusion and more.

ZeyZey will also host a rotating group of vendors that will provide food. On its opening weekend, the vendors included Dale Street Food, which serves contemporary Cuban cuisine; arepas from The Maiz Project; Gutenburg, creator of German-American burgers and Mana Table, which serves a rotating seasonal menu from ceviche and skewers to cold noodles.

Guests check out the menu at the vendor Mana Table at ZeyZey in Little River. World Red Eye

All of the concepts are operated by friends or former employees of Vargas. There’s also a cocktail program led by Esther Merino.

ZeyZey co-founder Josh Hackler says that ZeyZey fills a need in a city “begging for more community and cultural experience.”

“For us, this project will be the heartbeat of the city’s music scene with local roots and global influence,” he said. “This is going to be a place for all to enjoy.”

Pili Restrepo Hackler, Sebastian Vargas and Josh Hackler, co-founders of ZeyZey, the new entertainment venue in Little River. Grassfed Culture Hospitality

Co-founder and creative director Pili Restrepo Hackler calls the space “our love letter to Miami.”

ZeyZey is “a space where all these little different atmospheres and sensations collide with one another,” she said. “It’s a vibrant world of sound and color, a happy place for Miami to discover.”