Three restaurants have opened in Coconut Grove since late July. Two of them took over spaces that had been empty since May 2025. The third, on Grove Isle, took more than a year to go from first report to opening night. On June 28, between those openings, Lokal served its last burger on Commodore Plaza after nearly 15 years. As of early October, no new tenant has been reported for its space.
So the new names on the Grove's restaurant map this fall are mostly new operators trying addresses that had already been tested. The places still coming sit on one short stretch of McFarlane Road.
Fifteen Months Between Slices on McFarlane Road
The storefront at 2996 McFarlane Road was home to Harry's Pizzeria, which closed in May 2025. On Wednesday, August 12, 2026, Miami Slice opened there, about fifteen months after the last pizza came out of that kitchen.
The address is the same, but the format is different. Miami Slice serves New York-style slices, and the Grove shop is the company's fourth, after downtown Miami, Key Biscayne and Las Vegas. It opened as a walk-in-only room with no reservations, offering both carryout and dine-in. The opening schedule was Wednesday through Sunday, 5 to 11 p.m. World Red Eye's preview described the same first-come, first-served setup. No later change to those Grove hours had been reported as of early October. That makes this a late-evening slice counter with no lunch service yet, which is worth knowing before walking over at noon.
The Far End of Main Highway Gets a Different Pitch
The second reopening is at the quiet southern end of Main Highway. Sereia, a modern Portuguese restaurant, closed at 3540 Main Highway in May 2025 after 14 months, even though it had been added to the Florida Michelin Guide. According to Miami New Times, head chef Miguel Massens said the "refined version" of Portuguese cuisine was a difficult sell. He also said being at the "tail end of the Grove" made the restaurant easy for foot traffic to miss.
Manoli opened in that space on July 22, 2026. It's a Greek restaurant led by chef Emmanouil "Manoli" Aslanoglou, who has cooked at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons in England and Arzak in Spain. He also led the historic Vassilenas restaurant in Athens and most recently worked at Nammos in Southampton.
The résumé is fine dining, but the menu is pitched more casually than Sereia's. New Times described shared plates rooted in family recipes, "with a few nods to American favorites." The chef described the restaurant as "food made with care and meant to be shared." Manoli's official contact page lists Wednesday through Sunday dinner. Service runs 5 to 10 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday, and 5 to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. An earlier Miami Herald report listed later weekend hours, so the restaurant's own page is the one to check before booking.
The address is just as far from Commodore Plaza as it was for Sereia. What's different is the bet that a share-the-table Greek menu will draw people to the end of Main Highway in a way a more formal one did not.
Grove Isle Adds a Waterfront Dining Room
The third opening was a long time coming. La Sponda Ristorante & Grill opened at 4 Grove Isle Drive by September 21, 2026. The Burn Miami had first reported the waterfront Italian restaurant more than a year earlier. It comes from Gioia Hospitality Group, founded by Thomas and Kassidy Angelo, and chef Danny Ganem runs the kitchen. Eater Miami added it to its new-restaurant heatmap in an update dated September 30.
Grove Isle is the opposite of a walk-by location. A bayside Italian dining room there is a reservation-and-drive kind of evening. That makes it a different kind of addition from the McFarlane Road slice counter, though both opened within about six weeks of each other.
Three Addresses, Side by Side
Address | Previous occupant | When it ended | New occupant | Opened |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2996 McFarlane Road | Harry's Pizzeria | May 2025 | Miami Slice | August 12, 2026 |
3540 Main Highway | Sereia | May 2025 | Manoli | July 22, 2026 |
3190 Commodore Plaza | Lokal | June 28, 2026 | None reported | Not applicable |
The first two rows sat empty for well over a year before new operators moved in. The third row is the open question for fall.
What Lokal's Exit Says About the Cost of Staying
Lokal opened on Commodore Plaza in 2011 and closed on Sunday, June 28, 2026, after nearly 15 years. When New Times first reported the closure in March, founder Matt Kuscher pointed to a proposed 50 percent rent increase. In the paper's July account of the final night, Kuscher said Coconut Grove restaurants are paying an average base rent of $85 to more than $100 per square foot a year in 2026. New Times translated that into $100,000 to $350,000 a year for a typical full-service restaurant, or roughly $10,000 to $30,000 a month. The building also needed substantial repairs after nearly 15 years. New Times reported that paying for those repairs on a leased property while also facing much higher rent no longer made financial sense.
That rent range is one operator's estimate, published in one article, and it should be read that way. It still helps explain the gaps in the table above. A space that needs repairs and carries a rent at that level is a hard space to fill quickly, and both Harry's and Sereia's former rooms took well over a year.
Lokal was not the only closure at that address in late June. Si Papa, a small lasagna-focused pop-up from 84 Magic Hospitality and Kush Hospitality, also listed at 3190 Commodore Plaza, ended service on June 28 and said it was looking for a new location. The Miami Herald reported that Si Papa occupied a space formerly used by Vicky's House. No suite numbers in the reporting confirm whether the two businesses shared a single unit. As of early October, no successor had been announced for either.
New Times said Kuscher's main focus going forward is Kush Wynwood. For now, that leaves Commodore Plaza with one fewer long-running casual option for a weeknight burger.
Still Behind the Signage on McFarlane Road
The two openings still ahead are both on McFarlane Road, the same street where Miami Slice just opened. If both arrive this fall, three of the Grove's newest food stops will sit within a few blocks of each other near CocoWalk.
- Levain Bakery, 2979 McFarlane Road. Temporary construction signage went up in early June. A September 23 New Times roundup still gave only "this fall." The bakery's own Coconut Grove page still reads "Coming Soon!" and lists no hours.
- Seiya, eighth floor of the Arya Hotel & Suites, 2889 McFarlane Road. Announced September 16, this Japanese restaurant is led by chef Seiya Noborikawa, who describes the concept as "Nikkei Alterno." The Burn Miami's report gave a fall target and no opening date.
Neither one had published an opening date as of October 8. For background, Grand Public Kitchen + Bar opened upstairs at CocoWalk, 3015 Grand Avenue, Suite 201, in May 2026, before this summer's openings.
Grace Blanco started her career in commercial real estate, and the lease decisions behind storefronts like the ones on Commodore Plaza and McFarlane Road are part of how she reads the Grove's blocks over time. If you'd like to talk about how changes on a particular street affect a home you own or are considering nearby, Graciela Blanco is glad to share what she's seeing. Let's Connect.
