Following a November 20th vote, the City of Miami Commission approved a 25-year lease for The Eating House to open in Coconut Grove from celebrity chef/owner Giorgio Rapicavoli and Francesco Balli. Proposed by Glasshouse Coconut Grove LLC. and designed by Celano Design Studio, the eatery is estimated to cost around $1 million to renovate the facility that once housed the Grove chamber of commerce.
Recently, Glasshouse Coconut Grove was also approved for an $18 million redevelopment project next to Miami City Hall in which they plan to convert an office space into a new contemporary American restaurant. With the addition of this new lease, the group will be increasing their role as a major player in the redevelopment and revitalization of the city. The Joanli Family Limited Partnership, whom currently have $10 million invested in restaurants and properties, is financing the project.
Miami-born chef and Food Network’s 2012 Chopped winner Alex Cassanova first started The Eating House as a pop-up eatery in the Gables before it became a bricks and mortar full-time restaurant. With this second location, the theme will have a more tropical, thatched-roof style for its décor.
The Eating House will be a lunch-oriented/juice bar spot in the morning and an upscale yet casual 179-seat restaurant in the evenings with a walk-up counter and full-service bar. Currently, their Ponce de Leon Blvd location in the Gables offers dinner items such as roasted bone marrow with candied bacon and onion marmalade; pasta carbonara with bacon, truffle, egg yolk and parmesan; and duck breast with red cabbage, apple, port, and cabbage chips. No word yet on whether the two locations will be serving the same fare.
The project is projected to be around eight months, but those involved in the restaurant are keeping pretty tight-lipped about any other details.
