This gastropub near Coral Gables is getting a new name, a new vibe and an upscale menu
The owners of The Mighty floated one name when they were deciding who they’d like to take over the kitchen at their neighborhood bar.
Patrick Murdock, and his mother Kim, who’d bought the Shenandoah favorite two years ago, had heard good things about the owner of Ariete and Chug’s Diner, Michael Beltran.
The next day, he walked in and sat at the bar for a drink.
“It was like it was meant to be,” Patrick Murdock said.
A month later, the deal was done.
The mother-and-son duo have partnered with Beltran to revamp and rename the restaurant The Gibson Room. It will go from a burger and beer joint to a more upscale cocktail bar with the inventive cuisine Beltran is known for — while still keeping the pool table and adding live music five days a week. The restaurant’s menu and décor will evolve over the next two months until it reaches the partners’ vision in July.
“I had frequented that space a lot. It’s six blocks from where I grew up,” Beltran said. “The bones are there to make something special in a neighborhood that’s special — and special to me.”
The Murdocks bought The Mighty — which had been Jada Coles and later a craft beer gastropub that cultivated a loyal following — just before the start of the pandemic. But thanks to Murdock’s track record running bars (Murdock and her husband, Patrick Sr., founded Tavern in the Grove) the pair weathered the pandemic with burgers, chicken sandwiches and cocktails to go.
But post-pandemic, The Mighty needed a refresh. It needed a new identity. And that’s where Beltran came in. The parties worked out a deal where Kim Murdock, who previously helped finance Fireman Derek’s Pie Shop, can semi-retire as a silent partner and Patrick, a University of Miami marketing grad, stays on as general manager. Beltran’s vision sculpts the rest.
That means a menu that was focused on burgers, tacos and chicken sandwiches takes on a more upscale, after-hours hangout appeal.
Uni popcorn, grilled oysters with chili-lime butter and butter chicken egg rolls come courtesy of chef Kris Huseby, who worked with Beltran at Michael Schwartz’s upscale Cypress Room. A charcuterie menu with country pate and chicken liver mousse leads into heartier dishes like crispy duck scallion pancakes, oxtail and shrimp ramen, duck birria tacos and trusty steak frites.
“It’s having fun with stuff people are familiar with but still being interesting,” Beltran said.
The food pairs with a cocktail program installed by Beltran’s hospitality group, with drinks such as the Intro to Aperol (aperol, gin, lemon), Hot Ticket (tequila with Cholula hot sauce and agave) and Irish Expat (Irish whiskey, lime, mint). But he says there will always be a solid selection of locally brewed craft beers.
“The cocktails have to match. The food has to match. The music has to match,” Beltran said.
For the Murdocks, it’s a new phase for themselves and for the former Mighty.
“You see the vision, what it could be,” Patrick Murdock said. “It’s a new chapter and we’re excited for it.”
THE GIBSON ROOM
Address: 2224 SW 22nd St., Miami
Hours: 5 p.m. to 3 a.m., Wednesday-Saturday; until 1 a.m. Sunday-Tuesday.
More info: 305-5704311