Bodega Taqueria y Tequila owners Keith Menin and Jared Galbut are going from tenant to landlord in Coconut Grove, even before the opening of their restaurant and bar.
3419 Main LLC, led by Menin and Galbut, paid about $4.3 million for the two-story, 2,250-square-foot building at 3419 Main Highway. Property records show the seller is an affiliate of Federal Realty Investment Trust, the Bethesda, Maryland-based real estate investment trust that owns the nearby CocoWalk.
Bodega is expected to open its Coconut Grove location in three to four months, and will include a 40-seat tequila bar, a courtyard that backs up to the Mr. C Miami hotel, and a beer garden, Menin said.
The deal closed as Menin Hospitality expands the Bodega concept in Florida and outside of the Sunshine State. Galbut, CEO, has led the expansion, which includes a location under construction in West Palm Beach and one in Aventura that recently opened. The concept also signed two out-of-state leases, Menin said.
“My first intuition is to buy the building,” whenever possible, Menin said. “Bodega has such high volume. We make great deals and become great tenants.”
Stuart Biel, senior vice president of regional leasing for Federal Realty, led the deal on the seller’s side.
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South Florida
Menin plans major expansion of Bodega Taqueria
Since opening Bodega’s original location, a half-taco shop, half-speakeasy at 1220 16th Street in Miami Beach, in 2015, the concept has grown to include locations in Fort Lauderdale, as well as at the FTX Arena in downtown Miami.
The Coconut Grove building, constructed in 1922, sits on a 3,875-square-foot lot that’s sandwiched between properties owned by the Fort family of Arquitectonica. Neighboring tenants on Main Highway include Panther Coffee, Warby Parker, Books & Books and Fireman Derek’s Bake Shop. About a block north, a partnership led by Federal Realty recently redeveloped CocoWalk and completed an office building at the shopping center.
Galbut and Menin, co-founders of Menin Hospitality, are the nephews of developer and Crescent Heights Managing Principal Russell Galbut.
Menin has also been working on his Menin Homes business, renovating properties in Miami Beach and will soon be working on his first spec home in Aspen that could hit the market for $20 million next year, he said.