This award-winning chef is leaving her Michelin-approved restaurant. Is it closing?

In 2024, a year after she opened her Peruvian restaurant Maty’s in Midtown, Miami chef Valerie Chang won the James Beard Award for Best Chef: South, ending a 14-year drought for Miami.

Now the future of Maty’s — named for Chang’s Peruvian grandmother — is uncertain, according to a Maty’s spokesperson.

All the signs are there that the restaurant, which has not been open since early April, is closing and most likely not reopening, at least not as Maty’s and definitely not with Valerie Chang at the helm.

Chang, whose first Miami spot was Itamae, a counter serving Peruvian-Japanese cuisine at a local food hall she opened with her brother Nando and father Fernando, posted a farewell note thanking customers on her Instagram account for patronizing the restaurant, which was recommended in the Michelin Guide. A spokesperson for Maty’s confirmed that Chang will no longer be working at the restaurant.

“As this chapter comes to an end for me, I want to take this moment to express my deepest gratitude for everyone who has allowed me to cook for them at Maty’s over the past two years. We opened this restaurant to honor our grandmother, Maty, in the best way we know how — through food,” read the post.

Since April, the restaurant at 3255 NE First Ave., had been hosting a residency by Itamae, serving the favorites from the menu of the Chang family’s first restaurant — tiraditos, ceviches, nigiris and other dishes that made them a hit in the city. The residency will end on July 5. At that point, a spokesperson said, “the kitchen will not be active,” which means there are no imminent plans to reopen Maty’s.

Meanwhile, Nando Chang, who earned the 2025 Best Chef: South award just a year after his sister, will continue to focus on his 10-seat omakase counter, Itamae Ao, which is located in a smaller room attached to the main Maty’s restaurant. Nando Chang, who also earned a Michelin star for Itamae Ao this year, plans to expand the counter’s days of operation to Tuesday through Saturday, as well as adding new items to the menu. Guests will still access Itamae Ao through the former Maty’s space.

There’s no word on what’s next for Valerie Chang or what other possibilities lie in store for her former restaurant space.

*This story was updated to reflect that ownership won’t confirm the future of Maty’s.

This story was originally published June 26, 2025 at 3:51 PM.