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Juvia, the rooftop restaurant and bar that once dominated the nightlife scene on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach, closed in August after 11 years. Now, it’s finding a new life at the Miami Worldcenter, the $6 billion, 27-acre development in the heart of downtown. Owner Jonas Millán, who with his wife Alexandra runs the Juvia Group, said that changes in the city made the move inevitable. “Miami has changed so much in 11 years,” he said. “Miami has stopped being a beach destination. It’s become a bigger city. We needed to evolve. We were looking at different options, different venues, and when we ran into Miami Worldcenter we said, ‘This is it. This is the future.’ ” Millán said that the new space, which won’t open until late 2024, will be larger than the original Juvia, with a bigger outdoor area and a larger terrace bar. The Miami Worldcenter at 1010 NE Second Ave., which will feature 300,000 square feet of retail space, about 5,000 apartments and condos and 600 hotel rooms, is already home to three concepts from Chef Michael Beltran’s Ariete Hospitality Group: the French restaurant Brasserie Laurel; the casual Chug’s Express; and El Vecino Cigar & Cocktail Bar. A rendering of the completed Miami Worldcenter. Several more restaurants are scheduled to open in 2024, including the Italian restaurant Serafina from New York; Sixty Vines from Dallas and a Burger Fi and Anthony’s Coal-Fired Pizza & Wings. The development will also include retail stores like Sephora, lululemon and Ray-Ban and entertainment concepts like Bowlero, Sports & Social and the immersive exhibit the Museum of Ice Cream. The cuisine at the new Juvia will be along the same lines as the original, French with Latin influences. But with the explosion of the Miami restaurant scene over the past few years and the arrival of Michelin stars for Miami-area restaurants, Millán said, the bar for success has been set much higher than it was 11 years ago. “We have to keep up with the gastronomy,” he said. “Some people see competition in the market as a threat, but for me it’s an inspiration. It’s an opportunity to level up, to evolve, to do something better. We need to be on point. Miami is getting more demanding.” Nitin Motwani, managing partner of Miami Worldcenter Associates, said that Juvia was always the first choice as a tenant for the rooftop spot at the development. A fan of Millán’s restaurant Bonito St. Barth, Motwani knew of Juvia’s reputation as a trailblazer on Lincoln Road. The original Juvia on Lincoln Road closed in August 2023. Ivan Nava “They redefined Miami Beach,” he said. “When we first designed the space, we’d say, ‘It would be great to have a restaurant like Juvia.’ We thought they’d be set on staying on the beach. But they had an expiring lease and the opportunity to move to a place that is going to be the center of the universe in Miami.” The restaurant’s sophisticated yet fun atmosphere meshes nicely with the overall concept of Worldcenter, Motwani said. “We’re creating an eclectic mix of operators. We want it to be fine dining for special moments but also to have place you’d go three or four times a week. With Juvia, we want to be the place you can go after a Miami Heat game, whether it’s a celebration or in sorrow. We wanted someone who really understood Miami.”
Connie Ogle, MiamiHerald
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