After a brutal 2025 summer season, restaurant owners and managers in Coconut Grove are planning World Cup watch parties in June and July to attract fans and build customer loyalty.
Last year can well be described as a bloodbath for restaurants in Coconut Grove.
Higher rents, rising costs and a slow summer forced 10 local restaurants to call it quits by early fall 2025, including a humble taco stand and an elegant newcomer. Today, those problems are amplified by soaring fuel prices and cautious consumer spending.
So, who in their right mind would launch an upscale steakhouse on the cusp of the Grove’s infamous slow season?
Meet Stefano Cremasco, the man behind 1986 Steakhouse, which opened last month at Mayfair Plaza.
A native of Mexico whose family is Argentinian, Cremasco is a fanático del fútbol or – in plain English – a soccer fan who views World Cup matches as the perfect opportunity to forge long lasting relationships with local customers.
Cremasco, whose uncle played professional soccer, named the restaurant in honor of the year Argentina won the World Cup in Mexico. “Obviously, football in Argentina is religious,” he says.
The timing of this year’s World Cup, coming so closely on the heels of his opening, is a “happy coincidence,” Cremasco says – and possibly a blessing as well, for 1986 Steakhouse and other restaurants in the Grove. Matches begin June 11.
“It couldn’t come at a better time,” Cremasco said.
Unlike many new restaurants with showy interiors and blaring music, 1986 Steakhouse has a more understated ambience, with handsome, classic surroundings and a playlist that allows for quiet conversation.
But later this month, its serene atmosphere will be transformed, at least temporarily, into what might be described as an over-the-top, luxurious sports bar.
The main features will include high-tech projectors, massive screens, plus television monitors strategically placed around the 6,000-square-foot restaurant, ensuring that everyone has a clear view of the action.
“We’re essentially going to have watch parties for the most important games… the idea is for it to be an open house… a gathering spot,” Cremasco said, enthusiasm evident in his voice.
A similar plan is underway at Grand Public Kitchen, another newcomer in the Grove, where building local relationships is the paramount goal this summer, according to Matthew Tsoumaris, one of the restaurant’s founders.
Like Cremasco, Tsoumaris is hoping the World Cup will create lasting customer relationships while offsetting summer doldrums.
One quick look around his restaurant, and it’s easy to see how Grand Public, located at Cocowalk in the former space of Planta Queen, might bring this hope to life.
A massive wrap-around bar is crowned by six large television monitors — clearly a design with the hearts of sports fans in mind. For those who prefer a high-top table, there are two additional TV monitors on the opposite wall.
“We definitely see this summer’s global soccer excitement as an opportunity to bring energy into what’s traditionally a slower time for restaurants,” he wrote in an email, adding that the World Cup offers “a chance for us to introduce ourselves to the neighborhood… and become a go-to spot to watch the matches.”
Several blocks away, managers at Koko, a well-established Mexican restaurant at Tigertail and Mary, also view the World Cup as a silver lining in the cloudy summer forecast. Here, the plan calls for large, temporary television monitors that will beam down on patrons dining both inside the restaurant as well as on the outdoor terrace.
Lalo Durazo, a partner in Grupo Bakan, which owns Koko, believes outfitting the restaurant with special audio-visual equipment is worth the investment of time and money.
“With Miami being one of the key host cities for the FIFA World Cup, Koko by Bakan definitely sees the tournament as a major hospitality moment for the city,” he wrote in an email.
That moment is not being lost among more casual dining spots.
For example, Atchana’s Homegrown Thai, located on Commodore Plaza near Grand Avenue. The small restaurant, a favorite among locals, has no plans to lug in extra AV equipment. But the TV above the bar will be tuned to the matches, said owner Atchana Capellini, not just for customers, but for employees, too.
“If Argentina makes it, or Brazil makes it, or… Haiti… obviously these are the nations that we know, all of our staff, our friends, these are our people, they’re from all these nations,” she said.
Some matches will also be seen and heard in decidedly outdoor settings.
For example, Ariete Hospitality Group with the Drinking Pig BBQ, Chugs, and other eateries that line the courtyard on Main Highway near Commodore Plaza, will station large TV monitors on stands around the square patio, according to Bruschenka Hernandez, director of marketing and branding.
On Commodore Plaza, Bartaco, which is especially popular with younger crowds, is “exploring ways to lean into that excitement through sports-viewing moments,” and “watch-party style experiences,” Gideon Horowitz, the restaurant’s district general manager, wrote in an email. The plan includes projecting select matches on a huge wall in view of the restaurant’s spacious back patio.
While some Grove restaurants hope to lure locals with large screens and live streaming, others are hoping to capitalize on catering opportunities.
At Rice Kitchen, which opened at Cocowalk in February, owner Jafar Shabani describes his business as a “fast, casual concept” that has grown to 10 South Florida locations in 20 years.
Recently, catering has become an important part of the revenue stream, which Shabani attributes to the nature of the restaurant’s Mediterranean menu.
“Our food travels well, especially compared to pizza, pasta, or tacos,” he said. While a typical lunch order costs around $20, catering orders can climb into the thousands of dollars. So, beginning this month Shabani will offer special discount packages in hopes of attracting more corporate and private party planners.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We don’t have data for it, but we’re hoping to get some revenue out of this, for sure,” he said. Rice Kitchen is marketing the catering deals, along with summer specials for regular orders, on the restaurant’s custom-designed app.
The World Cup matches, which will travel between 16 cities across the United States, Mexico, and Canada, begin June 11 and end July 19. Miami will host various matches between June 15 and July 18. The question for restaurants is: Will the time and money they invest in attracting fans significantly bolster summer business?
That is a subject of dispute. For the past two years, FIFA, along with the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, have claimed that the matches will generate 600,000 to a million visitors to South Florida, generating a $1.5 billion economic impact. That forecast is now under scrutiny. Miami area hotel bookings are well below expectations, though better than other North American host cities.
But regardless of visitors and ticket sales, as Rice Kitchen’s Shabani points out, it’s not game attendance or even tourism that matters to Miami restaurants, but rather television viewership. In that regard, recent data makes the silver lining in the cloudy forecast look, well, like 24 carat gold.
To summarize a recent report by Nielsen, an authority in television ratings research, 67% of U.S. World Cup fans say they plan to watch full matches, with Hispanic and younger audiences driving strong engagement. Because Hispanic fans are identified as the fastest growing and most engaged World Cup audience segment, South Florida television viewership is likely to outperform national averages, according to Nielsen.
That’s great news for restaurants eager to feed frenzied fans but requires a cautionary note: The intense fan loyalty that Latin Americans and Europeans are so famous for is known to trigger violence.
So, how will Miami restaurants maintain peace among their patrons?
One manager had a simple answer: “We don’t allow standing. People who stand are asked to sit down or leave.” Another said that “…we’ve never had bouncers and hope we won’t need to this time around.” As he explained, “We are very good at managing people and their drinking. I mean, at the end of the day, it’s still a restaurant. not a bar.”
World Cup Watch Party at Peacock Park: The Coconut Grove Business Improvement District (BID) will host a public watch party for the Brazil vs. Morocco match on Saturday June 13 from 5 to 8 p.m. at Kennedy Park. Follow this link for details.
