Miami Beach city manager recommends new vendor for Nikki Beach site
Miami Beach City Manager Alina Hudak is recommending that beach concession operator Boucher Brothers take over the site of long-running day club Nikki Beach, according to a memo released
Wednesday.
Hudak said she believes a 10-year deal with Boucher Brothers on the city-owned property is the best option for the highly-coveted oceanfront land after Nikki Beach’s lease expires in 2026.
The City Commission will have the final say at a Sept. 27 meeting.
Miami Beach officials on Wednesday released the complete proposals put forth by Boucher Brothers and three other bidders:
The Group, RH (formerly known as Restoration Hardware) and Tao Group Hospitality.
A committee reviewing proposals to operate a “high-end beach club” at the site gave high marks to Boucher Brothers last week, ranking the company first among three bidders for a 10-year deal and tied for first with The Group among four bidders for a 30-year arrangement.
In her memo, Hudak said Boucher Brothers’ 10-year proposal contemplated annual payments to the city of 10% of gross operating revenue, or at least $4 million per year, increasing by 3% each year. That would bring the city about $41 million in rent over the 10-year term, Hudak said.
The Boucher proposal would pour $26 million into renovating an existing building at the site. The redesign would include a pool, a wellness center and spa, a “kids corner” and a beach concession area, according to bid documents. It would also feature a Sadelle’s restaurant under a partnership with Major Food Group.
Boucher Brothers submitted a similar proposal under the 30-year option.
The Group, a New Yorkbased collection of restaurants that will soon be expanding to Miami Beach with the opening of Le Jardin Boucherie, submitted a proposal for a 30-year term offering $3 million in annual rent increasing by 10% every five years.
That proposal was modeled after Casa Reia, a beach club in Lisbon co-founded by The Group founder and president Emil Stefkov. The Group says it would invest $36 million to tear down the existing Nikki Beach building and erect a new one with a two-floor restaurant, a third-floor cultural theater space, a “lagoon area” for wellness programming, and a beach concession area.
Hudak advocated for a 10-year deal rather than a 30-year deal — which would be a departure from the long-term lease Nikki Beach signed with the city decades ago.
“Should the public’s taste change or a future city commission determine a better use for the Property, a 10-year option would provide flexibility for other uses,” Hudak wrote.
A lease of more than 10 years would require approval by voters in a citywide referendum under city charter requirements for city-owned waterfront land.
Any lease of the property would need to be approved by residents living in voting precincts within a mile of the property at 1 Ocean Drive, Hudak said, under a county charter provision for public parks.
Absent from the bid process were representatives for Nikki Beach, the longtime restaurant and day club that is a popular party and relaxation spot at the city’s southern edge.
Miami Beach officials rejected a submission by attorneys for the club’s owners, Jack and Lucia Penrod, saying they failed to submit a bid through the city’s online portal by a 3 p.m. deadline on Aug. 30.
The Penrods say there was a glitch in the city’s system and have filed a challenge in Miami-Dade Circuit Court.
Nikki Beach has battled the city in court with limited success. A Miami-Dade Circuit judge dismissed a May lawsuit last month, calling their claims “speculative and unripe.” The club has since filed an amended complaint.