WGM Weekly: The Raleigh's 690-Seat Tell, Heat Watch Gaia, & Cipriani Residences Brickell
+ New Openings Casa Tua Cucina, 400 Vinyl Room, & Buccan Sandwich Shop.
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WHAT’S GOOD MIAMI: 5.12.26
On My Mind: Life Is A Video Game That Doesn’t Come With Instructions
Life is not for the faint of heart. Neither is Super Mario Bros.
Beach Business
The Raleigh’s 690-Seat Tell
The Planning Board convenes June 2 to decide whether the Raleigh gets two more floors, eight more condos, and a 690-seat restaurant.
The Cadillac Hotel Is Becoming an Escalade
A phased renovation lands late 2026 into 2027, guestrooms and public spaces.
Hospitality Local Insider
Heat Watch: Gaia
Picture Milos combined with LPM, the seafood seriousness of one, the see-and-be-seen energy of the other, and you have the shape of it.
New Openings
Casa Tua Cucina Wynwood
The legendary food hall arrives with major square footage in Wynwood.
400 Vinyl Room
100 years of deal making. Right next to Yamashiro. Sixty seats, vinyl only.
Buccan Sandwich Shop
The Palm Beach cult favorite opened in Coral Gables.
Real Estate
Luxe Developments We Love: Cipriani Residences Brickell
1420 South Miami Avenue. Eighty stories. The tallest residential tower in Miami.
ON MY MIND: LIFE IS A VIDEO GAME THAT DOESN’T COME WITH DIRECTIONS
Life is like a video game. We are always all working to get to the next level. The only difference between life and the video game is that life doesn’t come with directions.
Yes, there is philosophy. There is religion. There is history. And yes, some of it works. But beyond that, your rules are internal. They are what you can live with. What works for you. What you can tolerate and still wake up every morning feeling good about yourself.
That’s the game. Not the one your parents played. Not the one your friends are playing. Your game is your game, your rules.
You will lose lives. You will get stuck on the same level for years until you find a new move. You will meet players who change everything. You will meet enemies who teach you more than your friends ever could. And eventually you will figure out that the boss at the end of every level is yourself. You have to overcome you.
Press start. Risk everything and figure out the rules for yourself.
BEACH BUSINESS
The Raleigh’s 690-Seat Tell: Who will the operator be?
Nahla Capital filed its hand with Miami Beach this week. The Planning Board convenes June 2 to decide whether the Raleigh redevelopment gets two more floors, eight more condos, and a 690-seat restaurant.
The headline is the height. The story is the seat count.
Nahla paid $270 million for the three-acre site last October, the former Raleigh, Richmond, South Seas Hotels, all stripped to their facades, all waiting for someone to finish what Shvo couldn’t. The 2020 approval was 86 hotel keys and 84 condos. By 2022 it was 44 and 60. Today’s filing pushes residential back up to 52 units across 17 stories, keeps the hotel at 60 rooms, and adds 66,264 square feet to the tower.
That’s the developer math. The 690 seats are something else.
Under Shvo, the F&B program was an exclusive amenity, Milan’s Langosteria flying in for their first U.S. location, designed by Peter Marino, sized for residents and a hand-picked membership. A private club. Marino is now out, suing over his designs. Langosteria’s status is unconfirmed and the silence is loud. Kobi Karp is architect of record.
Nahla isn’t replacing an amenity. They’re building a destination.
Six hundred and ninety seats next to the fleur-de-lis pool is an attempt to build a revenue machine. Who lands it matters. Is it a lease deal or a management deal? There are very few players who can deliver on the scale and the feel required for ultra luxury at 690 seats. Whoever wins this room will have a big impact on what defines the Rosewood Raleigh when it opens in 2028.
Compass is selling residences. Rosewood is branding the hotel. The restaurant will tell you who the building is really for and what it will feel like.
The Cadillac Hotel Is Becoming an Escalade
Mid-Beach is getting another new look.
Davidson Hospitality Group just took over management of the Cadillac Hotel & Beach Club on Collins and 39th, the 357-room Roy France Art Deco landmark that’s anchored that stretch since 1940. Hersha owns it. Marriott’s Autograph Collection still flies the flag. A phased renovation lands late 2026 into 2027, guestrooms and public spaces, both.
This is the second generation of the Cadillac. And it’s the one that matters.
The bones are exceptional. Oceanfront. Two towers. Original terrazzo. Two pools. 6,200 square feet of event space. A wraparound mezzanine that most hotels would kill for. The first renovation got it back on the map. This one can make it a destination.
HOSPITALITY LOCAL INSIDER
Heat Watch: Gaia
Gaia has landed at 801 South Pointe Drive, and the room already tells you everything. Picture Milos combined with LPM, the seafood seriousness of one, the see-and-be-seen energy of the other, and you have the shape of it.
