Noise from posh Miami restaurant annoys neighbors. But the $633 crab dinner was delish
The exclusive new Klaw restaurant is receiving rave reviews for its tasty crustaceans and bayfront setting.
The high-priced King Crab flown in live from Norway’s Barents Sea is prepared inside the beautifully renovated 93-year-old Miami Women’s Club building in Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood. They are kept in tanks that diners can view before servers skillfully scissor open their cooked shells at your table.
But outside, it’s a different story, at least for some residents of the Grand condominium located next door. They say noise from large air-conditioning and refrigeration units and kitchen smells pumped out of pollution control units have been making life miserable since the restaurant and rooftop bar opened three months ago.
“We are prisoners in our own home. We can’t go out on our balcony or even open our sliding doors,” said David Rosenberg, who lives on the 37th floor of the 42-story Grand. “This is a major public noise pollution problem, far worse than construction noise or noise from late-night bars. It persists 24/7, except on the two days of the week Klaw is closed.“
Rosenberg and his wife Rhonda used to work on their laptops and practice tai chi on their north-facing balcony. The annoying rumble and what they describe as “noxious fumes” have forced them inside. The grinding, whirring HVAC mechanical noise emanates from an outbuilding constructed to house the equipment. It’s adjacent to the Grand, on the southwest side of the Women’s Club parking lot. The fumes come from units atop the lower roof of the six-floor building.
“It’s a low roar that is pretty awful, and when they first opened it was super noisy and the whole neighborhood smelled like fried meat,” said Jeff Stubins, who has lived at the Grand for seven years. “When I walk around New York or any other city you normally don’t have that stinky, greasy food smell. Will it drive property prices down? Yes. I wouldn’t buy a unit on the north side.”
Two more restaurants plan to lease space inside one of Miami’s Spanish Renaissance architectural grand dames at 1737 North Bayshore Drive. Stubins fears more noise.
“If they have bands playing out back on the patio I will probably move,” he said. “It’s a mixed bag because they saved that gorgeous building instead of tearing it down and replacing it with a modern high rise. It’s not in ruins anymore, and it makes the neighborhood more walkable.”
Stubins, a commercial real estate agent, said nobody expects “a quiet nirvana” when they choose to live in an urban environment. The Rosenbergs, who used to live in Manhattan, concur. David Rosenberg is an author, poet and retired Princeton University creative writing professor. Rhonda Rosenberg is an FIU public health professor who works in the school’s AIDS Prevention Program.
“The builders didn’t need to put everything against our wall, which enables the sound to travel up the side of the condo,” Stubins said. “They could have placed it on Bayshore Drive, which is the main street and already an echo chamber. I can hear people screaming in their units sometimes.”
Developer says system improved
Pierre Heafey, the developer who signed a 90-year lease with the Women’s Club when it was in financial straits and then restored and renovated the building for $8 million, said he has responded to residents’ complaints by replacing defective parts in the pollution control units (PCUs), which “clean grease, smoke and odors from the exhaust of the restaurant commercial kitchen.”
Klaw sub-leases its space from Heafey.
“Following receipt of the complaints, we investigated and identified that one of the two PCUs on the lower roof was generating more noise in comparison to the other unit,” Heafey wrote in an email to the Herald. “Our engineers and contractors determined that the cause of this noise was originating from the bearings located inside the unit. Although these PCUs are brand new and this issue should not have presented, we took immediate action to correct this equipment defect. Following the completion of this work last month, we have noted a significant improvement to the noise and believe that the units now are functioning normally and well within the expected noise limits. Second, we mobilized the materials and contractors necessary to install additional ductwork to direct as much additional noise as possible away from the neighboring Grand condominium.
“Our intention is to be good neighbors in the Omni area, and I believe that we have properly satisfied that obligation,” wrote Heafey, president of the Heafey Group, who owns the Doubletree by Hilton Grand Hotel, dozens of condos in the Grand, and the shopping center inside at 1717 N. Bayshore Drive. He has an office there and lives there part time.
Rosenberg said he’s noticed no change and that, in fact, noise from the HVAC units is worse. He has sent sound recordings to Heafey, but says Heafey has stopped responding to him. He had hoped to resolve the problem before filing a complaint with the city of Miami’s code enforcement office.
“We are dismayed that Mr. Heafey does not seem to care about following up with residents and listening to what we hear from our units,” he said. “Noise pollution has a direct effect on quality of life and mental health.”
Stubins said he’s noticed mitigation of the fumes and some decrease in the noise.
“I give Mr. Heafey credit for doing something, but it would be better if they could make it more quiet because before the restaurant there was no noise coming from that building,” he said. “I open my windows in the winter so I guess that will be the real test.”
Great food, large bill
Stubins took the plunge and had a “once-in-a-lifetime” epicurean extravaganza at Klaw. A dinner of fresh crab for two, with no alcohol, cost $898.14, with tip and tax. The crab itself cost $633.
“They eviscerate the crab right in front of you, but the crab is already dead, and you’d much rather have them do it than yourself,” he said. “The interior of the building is spectacular. The food and service, first class. It was a great experience. I don’t think I’ll spend that much money on an entree ever again.”
Klaw also serves “unique, diversified premium cuts” of beef. Before they become dry-aged steaks, the cows receive exceptional care.
“Every step is considered in our specialist beef program — from the breeds chosen to our treatment of the product,” Klaw says on its website. “The result is a menu of outstanding choice and flavor.”
The original Married Ladies Afternoon Club was organized in 1900 with help from Henry Flagler. The elegant building on Bayshore Drive, which sits south of Margaret Pace Park, was one of the first in Florida to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. But the club’s prestige and membership began to fade in the 1970s and it leased its home to arts schools, which left considerable damage in their wake. Then it was empty for 10 years. The 2015 lease deal with Heafey gave the club, which maintains its headquarters on the third floor, an infusion of funds.
At first, Heafey turned the property into an illegal commercial parking and towing operation. The city cited him for seven code violations. He also expanded the parking lot and removed 10 large trees, much to the consternation of neighbors.
But he always said his goal was to “reinvent” the Women’s Club building and “open it up to the community.” The restaurant lease saved the building and the club, he said.
This story was originally published August 23, 2022 at 11:56 AM.
