WGM: Sunshine Coffee Rises, East Miami Sold, & Salud! Cocktail Month is Coming
Sunshine Coffee rises, Brickell hotel trades, and NY Times confirms the Padel Trend
On My Mind: Gratitude for this Great City
“Success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side effect of one’s personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by product of one’s surrender to a person other than oneself. Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it.”
- Viktor Frankl
At WGW we are endlessly grateful for this city. From the ocean mornings to the neon nights, to the neighbors who’ve become family to the dreamers who’ve become collaborators. Miami doesn’t just let you chase ideas; it welcomes you, lulls you in with charm, and reminds you to shine a little brighter every day. We are all on this journey together and the rising tide raises all boats.
For much less than the cost of your morning matcha, subscribe to get full access to the intel that matters. Cement your status as an insider and support your community. We love you Miami.
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BEACH BUSINESS
Blackstone Bags East Miami Hotel
East Miami Brickell hotel sells for $174M.Sunset Harbour is Getting Another Glass Tower
Gas station and car wash flips into a 40,000-sq-ft office and retail project.The New York Times Confirms the Padel Trend
From rooftop courts to luxury clubs, padel is Miami’s new social passport.Miami Gets Its Good Will Hunting
Damon & Affleck star in The Rip, landing on Netflix this January.The End of Movie Nights on Lincoln Road
Regal Cinema will shutters after decades, making way for a museum.
HOSPITALITY: LOCAL INSIDER
Sunshine Coffee, Born, Raised, & Roasted in Miami Beach, Opens This Week
Mellow yellow. Sunshine Coffee opens its flagship neighborhood shop at Esmé Hotel on Española Way.Raise a Glass: ¡Salud! Cocktail Month Lands in Miami
BEACH BUSINESS
Blackstone Bags a East Hotel Miami, a Brickell Trophy
Blackstone just dropped $174 million on the East Miami, a true trophy property sitting in the heart of Brickell, the densest, fastest-growing part of town. The 352-room hotel anchors Brickell City Centre, comes with 89 serviced apartments, and boasts multiple food and beverage outlets, including rooftop favorite Sugar.
Here’s the kicker: East Miami has been running as an unbranded asset, which means there’s plenty of untapped potential. In the right hands — and Blackstone’s are as steady (and deep-pocketed) as they come — this hotel could transform into a juggernaut. With proper brand alignment and operational muscle, it’s not hard to imagine 25–40% upside in EBITDA over the next cycle.
Brickell doesn’t just need more density; it needs flagship hospitality experiences that can match the neighborhood’s energy. East Miami has all the raw ingredients — now it’s about unlocking the value.
Sunset Harbour Gets New Glass Tower
Another Miami Beach relic bites the dust. The gas station and car wash at 1840 Alton Road in Sunset Harbour has been sold to David Aaron and Arkadia Property Group, along with partners Benjamin Bernstein and Scott Sherman.
Instead of filling up your tank, the corner will soon be home to a 40,000-square-foot Class A office project with 2,500 square feet of ground-floor retail or dining. In a neighborhood already buzzing with fitness studios, boutiques, and waterfront restaurants, the development signals a shift away from car culture toward a more walkable, work-and-play lifestyle.
The message is clear: Sunset Harbour is trading gas pumps for glass walls — and with the right design and tenants, this could be another big step in cementing the area as Miami Beach’s most modern hub.
The New York Times Confirms the Padel Trend
The New York Times just caught on to what we already know, padel isn’t just a sport, it’s the city’s new social passport.
From María Mercedes Ortega swapping the club scene for doubles in all-white fits to rooftop courts in South Beach and a $2B Midtown project promising the nation’s largest club, padel is everywhere. It’s easier than tennis, tougher than pickleball, and far more Instagrammable than both.
At the luxury end, Wayne Boich has turned Reserve Padel into the next country club, luxe locker rooms, cold plunges, cocktail bars, even signing the world’s No. 1 player to Miami. Meanwhile, public parks are jammed every night, proof that the craze cuts across the city and social classes.
Our take: Pickleball is for Boca. Padel is pure Miami, stylish, social, status-driven, and only getting hotter as other cities are following our lead.
Miami Gets is getting it’s Good Will Hunting
Netflix is dropping a gritty Miami cop thriller starring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. The duo scooped up the script in record time, and now The Rip lands this January. Think beards, bad decisions, and heat-soaked moral dilemmas. Here’s the trailer.
The End of Movie Nights on Lincoln Road
What’s up: Lincoln Road’s Regal Cinema is officially shutting down, marking the end of an era for South Beach movie nights.
What’s next: The space will be transformed into the Superhuman Museum, an immersive art experience led by Steve Berke.
Why it matters: The theater was a staple of South Beach on rainy days, celebrity run ins, and raising kids in Miami Beach.
My take: Movie nights are gone but not forgotten. Superhuman might deliver something immersive and fun, but it feels like a short term solution to a long term problem.
HOSPITALITY: LOCAL INSIDER
Sunshine Coffee: Born, Raised, & Roasted. Where the Palms Sway. Opens on Thursday.
After five years of dreaming, building, and pouring ourselves into this, my wife Gelareh and I are opening our flagship Sunshine Coffee this Thursday, September 18, at the Esmé Hotel on Española Way.
What started as pop-ups, first at the Miami Beach Botanical Garden during Art Basel, then at Reserve Padel’s Seaplane Base, has grown into something way bigger than we imagined. People connected with our Miami Iced coffees and matchas, and before long, Sunshine Coffee became a community. Now, we finally have a permanent home.
For us, this isn’t just a coffee shop. It’s named after our little miracle, our daughter, Sunshine, and it’s filled with everything we love: creativity, family, and the soul of our beloved home, Miami Beach. Inside, Gelareh has designed a space that radiates joy, pastel yellows, marble counters, a blue ocean portal, and her handmade sculptural furniture. It feels like our home, our energy, our family, turned into a café.
The menu is playful and personal too. We’ve been perfecting the Miami Iced for nearly a decade espresso based iced coffee, done with classic or flavored milks and foams like Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Chocolate Chip Cookie Milk, Banana Milk, and Pink Vanilla Cold Foam. We’re serving matcha lemonades, smoothies, and food that makes us smile: pancake cake, shakshuka tacos, our version of the BEC, and even spicy tuna and caviar toast. It’s the food we love, made fresh, with creativity in every detail.
But most of all, Sunshine Coffee is about people. We want every guest to feel like family, to walk out a little lighter and happier than when they came in. That’s our mission, to share the love, positivity, and community that makes Miami so special. Lifting each other up one cup at a time.
This Thursday, we open our doors. Our family’s dream becomes real. And we can’t wait to welcome you.
Sunshine Coffee 🧿
1438 Washington Avenue at Esmé Hotel
Open Daily 8 AM – 5 PM
Raise a Glass: ¡Salud! Cocktail Month Lands in Miami
Miami loves a good party, but this October the city’s cocktail culture gets its own month-long spotlight. From October 1–31, the first-ever ¡Salud! Miami Cocktail Month is shaking things up across Brickell, Wynwood, South Beach, and beyond.
Behind the bar (and the idea) are three names that know how to make Miami drink: Gabriel Urrutia, spirits educator and author; Joshua Wagner, the hospitality connector (and What’s Good Miami collaborator) you’ve definitely ordered a drink from at some point; and POPLIFE, the creative crew that’s been shaping Miami nightlife for decades.
Think of it as Miami Spice—but for cocktails. Before 10 p.m., participating bars will roll out special menus, curated events, and cocktail specials designed to get you sipping without breaking the bank. Whether you’re chasing a perfectly balanced martini in Brickell or a mezcal masterpiece in Wynwood, October is your excuse to rediscover why Miami’s bartenders are some of the best in the game.
But this month isn’t about velvet ropes or overpriced pours—it’s about accessibility, community, and connection. “We’re trying to get people back in the bars with affordable options and help our community any way we can,” the organizers told What’s Good Miami. And they mean it: ¡Salud! is backed by local talent and leading spirits brands who want Miamians to feel welcome, supported, and celebrated.
How to join in:
Follow along daily. We’ll be dropping exclusive offers, new menus, and neighborhood highlights all October long.
Sign up and show up. The more you participate, the more this initiative fuels the local bar scene—a win-win for the entire community.
So, mark your calendar, rally your crew, and raise a glass. Miami just gave you 31 reasons to say ¡Salud! this October.
Closing Statement
Miami is changing fast, towers rising in Brickell, gas stations giving way to glass offices, padel taking over rooftops, even Damon and Affleck filming cop dramas in our backyard. But underneath all the deals and the headlines, what makes this city special hasn’t changed. It’s the energy, the community, the chance to reinvent and still belong.
For me, this issue is about gratitude. Gratitude for a place that gave my family the canvas, that keeps attracting dreamers with ideas too wild for anywhere else, and that reminds us daily that success isn’t about chasing, it’s about creating something bigger than yourself. Miami gives us that chance, and for that, I’m endlessly thankful.
Keep your SPF high and your standards higher. See you at Sunshine Coffee, and then after we can head to the beach.
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For much less than the cost of your morning matcha, subscribe to get full access to the intel that matters. Cement your status as an insider and support your community. We love you Miami.
PS. You can write off your subscription, it’s a cost of doing business in the MIA.