But that’s not really how Lionfish got its name
“Lionfish, the name, came from [Masi’s] daughter,” recalls Ruiz. “It’s a good story. You need to ask him.”
It turns out that the original Lionfish wasn’t named after its menu staple as much as a beloved toy for his then 4-year-old daughter.
Masi explains: “When we were working on the restaurant in San Diego it wasn’t really really about that fish. My daughter kept saying to me ‘Lionfish dada, lionfish.’ She has this stuffed lionfish. She kept holding it above her head and saying over and over, ‘Lionfish dada, lionfish’ until I finally thought to myself, ‘Hey, that’s a great name.’ ”
Why Delray Beach
Masi grew up in Long Island, New York, and visited South Florida frequently as a tourist, eventually living in Boca Raton for five or six months and coming back every now and then for the last 30 years.
Before starting Clique Hospitality, Masi spent 14 years in Las Vegas as a co-founder, managing partner and CEO of the Light Group, which is credited for bringing a cool factor to restaurants and nightlife at the Bellagio,
Mirage, Mandalay Bar, Aria and Red Rock. He even oversaw the culinary makeover of the Delano in South Beach.
Thinking back on entering the Las Vegas scene with the Light Group 20 years ago, he remembers, “I knew instantly something was happening there. You could feel it. There was no Bellagio, no Mandalay. And in San Diego you could see the same thing — this young redevelopment.
“When I came down to visit Delray a year or two ago, I’m thinking, ‘You know Palm Beach. You know Boca,’ ” he continues. “But you walk into Delray and you’re like, ‘Wow.’ You’re not losing the old, you’re revitalizing it. You can see the people and the culture up and down the street. I’ve gotten lucky over the years introducing successes, to take part in the revitalization, the reinvigoration of the soul of the city in a little bit of a way.”
Masi also says that Delray Beach, in addition to being a foodie enclave, is also a good fit for Lionfish because of the culture of the people “…who respect late March. This will be the first East Coast location
The FWC encourages divers, anglers and commercial harvesters to remove lionfish in Florida waters to limit negative impacts to native marine life and ecosystems. A recreational fishing license is not required to take lionfish.
the ocean. You can’t do that in other cities. There are very few cities that create that energy. San Diego and South Florida have that, that ocean culture.”
The restaurant will seat 110 people, most in the dining room with a few tables available outdoors. “It’s a really light, airy restaurant,” says Masi. “It will have light wood, bright tones. It’s very open to the street. The whole front of the restaurants opens up. It’s very open and very, very clean in design, so it feels like it belongs in the beach
community.”
If you go
Lionfish Delray will be located at 307 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach (formerly Luigi’s Coal Oven Pizza and before that Buster’s Bar and Grill).
The hours will be:
• Mondays-Fridays 4-11pm
• Saturdays and Sundays 11 a.m.-11p.m.
For information, call 561-865-7066, email hello@ lionfishdelray.com or go to LionfishDelray.com.