GIOVANNA MANSI LUTFI TAKES THE LEBANESE LIRA TO MIAMI

As managing partner of WSH LLC and Tastings Soflo LLC, a luxury catering and events company, Giovanna Mansi Lutfi has plenty of hospitality experience. Her latest concept, Lira Miami, pays homage to her Lebanese heritage.

Lira offers a taste of traditional Lebanese cuisine in the heart of Miami. What made you decide to launch this concept in such a vibrant city?

Miami’s restaurant scene has grown significantly in recent years; you can now find pretty much every type of cuisine. Despite several Mediterranean options, there are only a few Lebanese ones; these are mainly full-service old-fashioned restaurants with belly-dancing shows and burgundy velvet sofas or takeaway stalls that offer sandwiches and tabbouleh straight from the fridge. Therefore, my partners and I decided to open Lira, a mid-scale casual-chic eatery in a very trendy neighborhood called Wynwood. Clients are welcome to come for lunch or dinner, and we even offer a weekend buffet brunch. Our indoor seating area accommodates 35 guests, and there are two patios: the small one seats 55 guests and the large one is for bigger groups and private parties.

Your restaurant not only promotes traditional Lebanese cuisine but also the work of Lebanese artists. What can you tell us about this idea?

Lira is located in Wynwood, a very artsy neighborhood in Miami. It is the hub of street artists from all over the world. There are numerous art galleries as well as restaurants, bars and cool shops. It thus made sense for us embrace art and, in our case, Lebanese art in its many forms. We started off by commissioning the queen of pop art Rana Salam with the logo and brand look. We also have prints and pillows from her online store. There is a big and beautiful outdoor graffiti of Beirut done by illustrator Maria Theresa Kallassy and many prints by Adra, Yasmina Keyrouz and other talented artists. Some of our copper table tops are made by artisans in Qalamoun. We also have cake stands by Nada Debs and “brik” by Lebanese Glass that’s made out of recycled glass from the Beirut Port blast. Our aim is to be as Lebanese as possible in everything we do, and our wish is to give visibility to these artists and many others too.