Owner of landmark Key Biscayne eatery Rusty Pelican to open Sweetwater’s restaurant along Miami River
The Miami River is slated for a new dining experience that eventually will bolster food options along the up-and-coming riverfront.
The owner of Miami’s landmark Virginia Key restaurant Rusty Pelican near Key Biscayne intends to open a different establishment there, the Miami Herald has learned.
Specialty Restaurants Corporation signed a lease in late 2021 for Miami waterfront space, which allows for enough room for indoor and outdoor dining plus a bar. The project’s interior design and lighting firm is being done by ICRAVE and its founder and CEO Lionel Ohayon confirmed the restaurant plans to the Herald.
The two-story restaurant, Sweetwater’s, will be located at River Landing Shops & Residences at 1400 NW North River Drive, said Andy Hellinger, co-partner of the Coral Gables-based development firm Urban X Group, which developed the mall. The eatery is anticipated to open during the final quarter of this year. The menu selections for the riverfront restaurant are being finalized.
Rusty Pelican and sister eatery Whiskey Joe’s Bar & Grill will remain on Virginia Key.
Specialty Restaurants’ officials declined to comment about their plans for the new restaurant.
The Rusty Pelican has been a popular dining location since its opening in the 1970s. The restaurant underwent a $7 million renovation in 2018. Its menu featuring seafood and American cuisine also received an upgrade and the waterfront views remain.
Meanwhile, the five-and-half-mile Miami riverfront gained popularity starting around 2015 with a constant stream of millennials searching for attainable housing and developers eager to build on the water. More living options are in the pipeline, years after Miami River pioneers and developers Camilo Miguel Jr. and Lissette Calderon started catering to demand.
Commercial and hospitality developers are banking on the growing popularity of the Miami River, including Miami-based MV Real Estate Holdings and Driftwood Capital who are doing the $185 million planned expansion of the Riverside Wharf. The development will include the 165-room Dream Hotel, the first one along the Miami River, restaurants, a nightclub and a private marina with space for yachts.
“The possibility of what the river will become is amazing for Miami,” Ohayon said. “When you imagine this (restaurant) on the river and people pulling up on their boats, it is a rich tapestry of opportunity.”
The planned restaurant by Rusty Pelican’s owner will join 25 eateries sitting along the banks of the Miami River, said Horacio Stuart Aguirre, chairman of the nonprofit Miami River Commission.
The newest addition, Aguirre said by email, would present more job opportunities and an “exciting restaurant” to the Miami River District. He said, “This will be another special destination which will attract more visitors to the public riverwalk.”
This story was originally published February 11, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
