'NYC at the beach'
Famous chefs and familiar restaurant names may help attract some visitors, especially in Miami hotels where many of these restaurants can be found. But they don't automatically guarantee long-term success.
"Even the best restaurants fail if their owners are asleep at the wheel," says Benn.
"It's no coincidence that Lure's chef/partner Josh Capon is down here from New York all the time, and that Upland chef Justin Smillie and owner Stephen Starr are constant presences in Miami. Or that both restaurants are always packed with happy eaters."
"We love Miami for the same reasons a lot of other New Yorkers love it," says David Massoni, one of chef Dale Talde's business partners in Talde, which first opened in Brooklyn and now has outposts in Jersey City and Miami Beach.
"It's a very diverse city, culturally and food-wise as well. While it totally has its own vibe and energy, it also has a feeling of New York City at the beach. When we turned to our staff to see who wanted to possibly move to Miami and open our new restaurant, everyone's hands shot up."