Thesis Hotel Miami Coral Gables sits at 1350 S. Dixie Hwy., across from the University of Miami. Its ground-floor dining rooms have already been through two restaurant programs, and the third arrives under a 20-year operating deal. Two of the hotel's restaurants are closing, two are coming in 2027, and the rooftop bar on the third floor is the one dining room that carries straight through.
One Operator, Twenty Years
In October, Nolan Reynolds International, the developer that built Thesis and the surrounding Paseo de la Riviera project, handed the hotel's food, beverage and events to Sam Nazarian's SBE. The Real Deal reported that the deal runs 20 years and covers all three dining rooms: Mamey, The Collab and Ivy Rooftop.
Twenty years matters because of how short the earlier arrangements were. The hotel was built in 2020. Patel's Orno opened in October 2021, and that first restaurant program lasted until early 2024, and the program that followed lasted until this year. One operator with two decades on the lease has every reason to build for the people who live nearby, because those are the customers still coming in after the first year of buzz.
Nazarian says that is the plan, and he has a personal stake in it. He lives in Coral Gables. He told the Miami Herald that bringing his restaurant to his own community "is personal." He also described the kind of regular he has in mind:
"We want Thesis to become part of people's lives. Dinner on a Tuesday. Drinks on the rooftop on Friday. A business dinner, a graduation, a birthday or wedding weekend."
Brent Reynolds, CEO of Nolan Reynolds International, told the Herald that his team "built Thesis to be more than a hotel" and wanted it "to be a gathering place for Coral Gables." Both the developer and the new operator are describing the same customer: a nearby regular who comes back, more than the overnight guest.
The Rooms Have Changed Hands Before
The two ground-level spaces have each had two programs already, and the 2027 tenants will be the third.
| Space | Through early 2024 | 2024 to late 2026 | Coming in 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Collab's room | Orno, chef Niven Patel | The Collab, chef Nicolas "Nico" Mazier | A new Mediterranean restaurant from Fabio Trabocchi, 5,150 square feet |
| Mamey's room | Mamey, chef Niven Patel | Mamey, under hotel ownership | Katsuya, 3,100 square feet |
Patel's split from the hotel took effect in January 2024. Orno closed, and Mamey stayed open under new ownership. Anyone who still connects Mamey with Patel is thinking of a version that ended almost three years ago. Patel's work continues through Ghee.
The Collab took over Orno's space with what Miami New Times described as Mazier's "MediterrAsian" menu of shareable seafood, meat and vegetable dishes. Coral Gables Magazine reported its official opening as April 4, 2024. According to the Herald, The Collab is expected to close before the end of 2026, and Mamey is closing too.
Trabocchi Comes Back to the Gables
One name in the new lineup will be familiar to longtime Coral Gables diners. Fabio Trabocchi opened Fiola Miami in Coral Gables in 2018 with Gioia Hospitality Group. That management agreement ended on June 30, 2025, and Fiola's last service was Sunday, June 22. Gioia reopened the space at 1500 San Ignacio Ave. as Daniel's Miami on July 23, 2025. It was the group's second Daniel's, after the Fort Lauderdale original opened in October 2024.
That leaves Trabocchi's Thesis project as his return to a city he left about a year and a half earlier. Miami New Times called it his return to Coral Gables after closing Fiola. It will not be Fiola under another name. The Herald and The Real Deal both describe a new Mediterranean concept created for Thesis, with its name, design and menu to be announced before it opens. His Washington, D.C., restaurant Fiola holds a Michelin star, and that is the reputation he brings back to Coral Gables.
The floor plan shows how much of the building SBE is handing him. At 5,150 square feet, Trabocchi's room is about two-thirds larger than Katsuya's 3,100. The bigger of the two ground-floor rooms goes to the chef Coral Gables diners already know. The Herald expects it to open early in 2027, in the space The Collab is leaving.
Katsuya Moves Into Its Owner's Neighborhood
Katsuya is the other half of the plan and the better-known brand. It opened in Hollywood in 2007 and is known for sushi, robata and other Japanese cooking. It now has four Los Angeles locations and one in Nassau, The Bahamas.
South Florida has had Katsuya before. It occupied the ground floor of SLS LUX Brickell until Gekko replaced it. Its Miami Beach location was inside the SLS South Beach Hotel, which The Real Deal reported is temporarily closed for a $100 million renovation. Those earlier locations sat in Brickell and South Beach, two of the region's busiest hotel districts. The Coral Gables location is built around Nazarian's own neighbors, inside a hotel next to a university campus.
New Times puts Katsuya's opening in the first half of 2027, in the space Mamey is leaving.
Until Then, Dinner at Thesis Means Ivy Rooftop
The restaurant changes won't affect Ivy Rooftop, the open-air bar and lounge on the third floor. Nazarian told the Herald it is an integral part of the new Thesis. Once The Collab and Mamey close, Ivy will be the hotel's only dining room until the 2027 openings. Its weekly schedule is the best guide to what the building offers in the meantime.
Ivy's posted hours as of October 2026:
- Lunch: 12 to 2:30 p.m.
- Dinner: Tuesday through Thursday, 4 to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 4 to 11:30 p.m.
- Closed: Sunday and Monday
The October Ivy weekly schedule lists three recurring offers:
- Happy hour, with 50 percent off wine by the glass, beer and premium well liquor.
- Thursday Ladies Night, 5 to 10 p.m., with a welcome glass of Prosecco through 7 p.m.
- Saturday "Sweet Skyline," 7 to 11 p.m., built around dessert cocktails.
Ivy's hours are posted on Mamey's website, so check them directly before you go while operations move over to SBE. Nazarian's line about "drinks on the rooftop on Friday" describes a night Ivy already runs.
Meanwhile on Miracle Mile, Imoto Is Serving Dinner
Until Katsuya arrives, Coral Gables already has a new Japanese-leaning dinner room. Chef Clay Conley and the Ember Group have opened a second location of Imoto, their Palm Beach Asian-inspired restaurant, at 100 Miracle Mile at Galliano Street. It joins the Coral Gables Buccan and Buccan Sandwich Shop next door. The Miami Herald describes a much smaller room than the sprawling Buccan, with banquettes, a sushi bar and a cocktail bar. The menu includes crispy Peking duck tacos, lomo saltado gyoza and hamachi crispy rice. According to the Herald, Imoto serves dinner from 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 10:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Conley told the Herald in May that he wasn't worried about the city's growing number of restaurants: "We just do what we do well." Imoto now sets the local standard Katsuya will be measured against when it opens at Thesis.
When a building near you changes its restaurants, nearby property can feel it too, sometimes on a buyer's first walk down the street. If you own near Paseo de la Riviera or Miracle Mile and want to know how the next year might affect your home's value, The Paiz Group can prepare a current valuation grounded in what is opening around you. Get Your Home Value.
