From left: Lalo Durazo, Ricardo Dunin, Peacock Garden cafe, Gregory Galy and Mark Scheinberg (Getty, Peacock Garden)
The hospitality that owns the South Beach restaurant Mila bought the Peacock Garden cafe property in Coconut Grove, The Real Deal has learned.
Mutiny on the Park, led by developer Ricardo Dunin and restaurateur Lalo Durazo, sold the commercial condo at what’s now the Hotel Arya tower for $9.5 million, or nearly $1,500 per square foot, property records show.
The buyer is Riviera Dining Group, sources said, which is led by Gregory and Marine Galy and Fabien Guardiola. The hospitality group owns the restaurant, rooftop lounge and bar called Mila in Miami Beach and Ava MediterrAegean in Winter Park, Florida. PokerStars billionaire Mark Scheinberg took a “significant” minority stake in the company late last year through Scheinberg’s Mohari Hospitality, according to a press release. Forbes pegs Scheinberg’s net worth at about $5.3 billion.
Riviera Dining will likely operate one of its concepts in the Coconut Grove space. Gregory Galy and Guardiola did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Scheinberg, and his father, Isai, co-founded PokerStars and sold it to Amaya Gaming in 2014 for $4.9 billion, according to published reports. Mohari Hospitality, Mark Scheinberg’s investment firm, has partnered with Property Markets Group, Greybrook Realty Partners, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Ritz-Carlton and other major hotel companies, according to its website.
The commercial condo in Miami’s Coconut Grove, a 6,369-square-foot unit at 2889 McFarlane Road, is on the ground floor of the Mutiny on the Park hotel-condo building that Dunin completed in 2001. The restaurant, with a large outdoor space, has a separate entrance from the building, which is now called Hotel Arya and was previously known as the Sonesta Coconut Grove.
Felix Bendersky (F+B Hospitality Brokerage)
Felix Bendersky, broker and owner of F+B Hospitality Brokerage, represented the seller. Lee Koniver of Koniver Stern, and Ryan Brodsky of Colliers represented the buyer in the off-market deal.
The seller was in contract to sell the space to another buyer, but after requesting an extension, Riviera Dining Group swooped in and closed the deal within two months, Bendersky said.
The deal illustrates strong demand for second-generation restaurant space in Coconut Grove. It also exemplifies the trend of operators buying the real estate for their restaurants instead of leasing, sources say.
Durazo, who owns Jaguar Hospitality Group, opened the Peacock Garden Cafe in 2011, according to the Miami New Times. Jaguar Hospitality owns the Jaguar Restaurant nearby at 3067 Grand Avenue.
Dunin, a former principal of Lionheart Capital who launched his own firm, Coconut Grove-based Oak Ventures, also redeveloped the The Mutiny Hotel around the corner from the Hotel Arya. Most recently, he is partnering with Edgardo Defortuna’s Fortune International Group to develop the Ritz-Carlton Residences in Pompano Beach.
