Novikov Bar & Grill, an internationally renowned Asian and Italian restaurant, will open its first location in the United States at Met 1 in downtown Miami, The Real Deal has learned.
MDM Development Group signed a lease with representatives of restaurant entrepreneur Arkady Novikov for the ground-floor space of the condo tower at 300 South Biscayne Boulevard, said Lyle Stern, principal of Koniver Stern Group, the exclusive leasing representatives for Metropolitan Miami.
“They looked at other cities and other venues in Miami and Miami Beach and ultimately decided to open their United States flagship in Met Miami,” Stern told TRD. “What was compelling to them were the water views and being in a venue with a theater, Whole Foods, and JW Marriott Marquis.”
Novikov is taking the former location of Chop House, and will completely gut and redesign the 8,500 square-foot space, said Stern, who declined to disclose the terms of the lease, citing a confidentiality agreement. The restaurant is scheduled to open by early 2017, and will join existing Novikov locations in Moscow, London and Dubai.
Novikov will have a 250-seat dining space that will also feature a bar and private dining room. At Metropolitan Miami, the restaurant joins Whole Foods, which opened last year and DB Moderne at the Marriott Marquis Miami. Yet to open is Silverspot Cinema, as well as five new restaurants, all of which are currently in lease negotiations, Stern said.
The project’s owner, MDM Development Group, is very selective about tenants, he said. “It’s about the right build-out. They don’t have to be expensive restaurants, but they have to be the right design level.” Stern said. “Novikov became really important because of who they are internationally.”
Metropolitan Miami includes Met 1, a 447-unit, 40-story luxury residential tower; Met 2, which is the Wells Fargo Center, a 47-story, 752,000-square-foot Class ‘A’ office tower and adjoined 41-story JW Marriott Marquis Miami and Hotel Beaux Arts Miami; and Met 3, the Whole Foods, parking garage and a luxury residential tower by Zom that is under construction. The last phase is the under-development Met Square, which will feature the theater, four restaurants, retail outlets and residences.