Juggernauts Groot Hospitality And Tao Group Team Up In Edgewater With Casadonna

 
With news like this, it’s no wonder Miami has been named Bon Appetit’s “Food City of the Year.”

The two highest-grossing entertainment conglomerates are partnering up to bring Casadonna to Edgewater. The name “Casadonna” is clearly a nod to the location. Meaning “house of women” in Italian, the new eatery will be housed in the historic waterfront Miami Women’s Club located at 1737 North Bayshore Drive.

“This is an entirely clean sheet concept for Groot Hospitality from every angle,” said David Grutman, founder of Groot Hospitality. “With Tao Group, this is a true hospitality meets hospitality partnership. We see Casadonna as a new classic on Miami’s Biscayne Bay, delivering best-in-class coastal Italian cuisine from an important landmark within the city. It’s full of heritage and history, yet, with what we’ve done, it feels totally new at the same time.”

Beginning this summer, Casadonna will offer an inspired menu with traditional dishes from the Italian Riviera including Naples, Taormina, Bari, Positano and Gaeta all presented in a contemporary way. Longtime collaborator Ken Fulk has designed an elegant indoor/outdoor dining and bar areas with paned and vaulted windows surrounding an atrium with soaring ceilings, elaborate chandeliers and the original iron gates.

Rendering of Groot Hospitality Tao Hospitality Casadonna Miami Patio

Looking at Restaurant Magazine’s annual list of the top 100 grossing restaurants in the United States, you will find a list that is riddled with appearances from both Groot Hospitality and the New York-based Tao Group Hospitality. Under the Groot umbrella are such Miami staples as LIV Nightclub (the highest grossing nightclub in the United States), Komodo (the #1 highest grossing restaurant for 2022), Swan, Papi Steak, Key Club, Strawberry Moon (a partnership with Pharrell Williams), and Gekko (a Brickell partnership with Bad Bunny). Tao Group is a household name in both the New York and Las Vegas markets with 30 locations in New York City alone including LAVO, Beauty and Essex and it’s namesake Tao.

In December 2022, the founder of Tao told Eater NY that its restaurant group has gained such a following: “we have customers who plan their social calendars entirely within our collection restaurants.” 

With a nationally famous wine and food festival, eleven Michelin-starred restaurants, James Beard Award semi-finalists, and several Bib Gourmand-designated restaurants, it’s no surprise Bon Appetit has applauded Miami as the place their editors most wanted to return to for a culinary adventure.

“The always-evolving city is buzzing with opportunity, and a wave of creative chefs and restaurateurs have picked up on that air of possibility,” writes Editor-in-Chief Dawn Davis, “It’s led to a spate of daring, exciting restaurants that are contributing to the city’s rich culinary history while bringing entirely new dimensions to the dining scene.”

Given the impressive background of both hospitality groups and the trophy location for such an undertaking, suffice it to say that we expect a great deal from Casadonna.