Black Lion Expands Miami Portfolio with Gaia Restaurant in Miami Beach
The high-end Greek restaurant will open in South of Fifth
By Julia Echikson February 9, 2023 9:23 pm
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Retail landlord Robert Rivani has snagged yet another upscale restaurant in Miami Beach’s South of Fifth neighborhood.
The owners of Gaia, a high-end Greek-Mediterranean concept, filed plans to open on the ground floor of the Marea condo building, located at 801 South Pointe Drive, adjacent to Washington Avenue.
The 9,534-square-foot restaurant will feature a dining room and a bar with about 164 seats, “an exclusive members club, or a VIP dining area” with approximately 50 seats, and a sidewalk seating area with approximately 28 seats, according to a proposal filed to Miami Beach’s Planning Board. The outdoor section would shut service by midnight, and the VIP club would close two hours later.
“Owing its name to the Greek goddess of Earth, every aspect of Gaia Miami Beach’s menu, décor and atmosphere is inspired by the Earth and its fundamental components,” the filing states.
The restaurant chain has locations in London, Monte-Carlo, Doha and Dubai. If approved, the Miami Beach outpost would be the concept’s fifth location.
It’s the latest high-end restaurant lease for Rivani, founder and CEO of Black Lion Investment Group, who has snapped up trophy retail assets across the Miami area over the past two years.
In 2021, the investor purchased the 18,260-square-foot ground-floor retail base of the seven-story Marea building for $19.1 million. Red steakhouse and Kosushi occupy the other half of the space.
Earlier this week, just two blocks east from the Marea condo, Rivani announced that Philippe by Philippe Chow would open at the One Ocean condominium. That announcement came four months after Rivani bought the 13,500-square-foot space for $12 million.
Celebrity hotspot Catch is set to occupy the 22,000 square feet of ground-floor retail at the nearby Continuum condo complex, which Black Lion purchased for $11.5 million in April.
Across Biscayne Bay in Brickell, Miami nightlife mogul David Grutman and Latin superstar Bad Bunny together opened a steakhouse called Gekko on the ground floor of the SLS LUX Brickell condo building. Black Lion had acquired the 11,000-square-foot space for $13.5 million in 2021.
Representatives for Black Lion and a lawyer representing Gaia’s owners did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Julia Echikson can be reached at jechikson@commercialobserver.com.
