Where in downtown Coral Gables would you go this month to find something that didn't exist in the summer? Miracle Mile has had a busy few weeks, but most of that activity is one business replacing another. Ponce de Leon Boulevard is where new places are actually being added. The new kitchens are there, and so are several of the city's October weekend events, in and around Ponce Circle Park.
The Galiano Street Handoff
The first change came on Galiano Street. Sra. Martinez served its final dinner at 2325 Galiano St. on Saturday, September 26. Chef Michelle Bernstein and her husband and business partner, David Martinez, announced the closing on Instagram, Miami New Times reported. The restaurant had come back on December 13, 2024, after 12 years away. It took over the former Open Stage Club space, with a dining room, covered patio, cocktail lounge and a stage for live music.
"After a lot of thought, we've made the difficult decision to close Sra. Martinez."
The couple say they are keeping the space and are already working on what comes next. They have not said what that will be. So for now 2325 Galiano is a space waiting on an announcement.
Sixteen days after that last service, Galiano gets a new door. Imoto, the Japanese and Asian sister concept to Chef Clay Conley's Buccan, is set to open Monday, October 12, according to team members who spoke to The Burn Miami. Buccan opened earlier this summer at 100 Miracle Mile, and The Burn believes Imoto's entrance is around the corner on Galiano Street. Reservations open the same day. The restaurant's own site lists sushi and sashimi, dumplings, tempura and teppanyaki. Conley started both Buccan and Imoto in West Palm Beach, and this opening completes the pair's move into the Gables. If you read our summer look at the Palm Beach operators moving into Coral Gables, this is the second half of that story.
The October 12 date comes from a report published October 6, and this opening has slipped before. A May schedule in the Miami Herald had Imoto opening June 1. It makes sense to check the reservation page before you plan a Monday dinner around it.
Miracle Mile Is Mostly Changing Tenants
Read storefront by storefront, the Mile's September and October look like a sequence of handoffs. Several of these spaces changed hands within weeks of each other.
| Address | What changed | Status as reported |
|---|---|---|
| 70 Miracle Mile | Don Favio's Pizza Gourmet | Apparently closed as of Sept. 1, with locked doors and no official notice |
| 111 Miracle Mile | Bonsai Sushi, in the former Chicken Kitchen space | Open by Sept. 23 |
| 239 Miracle Mile | YoYo, a café with frozen yogurt and a yoga studio | Announced a Sept. 11 opening |
| 374 Miracle Mile | Canelita Cheesecake moving to 31 NE 17th St. in Miami | Closed by Oct. 6, next tenant unknown |
| 100 Miracle Mile | Imoto, sharing an address with Buccan | Opening reported for Oct. 12 |
The Burn Miami's Don Favio's report relied on locked doors and a neighboring operator. The restaurant itself had not responded, so treat that one as reported but unconfirmed. YoYo's lineup includes frozen yogurt, Scandinavian bites, coffee, matcha and yoga classes.
One block off the Mile, Lira House, a Lebanese restaurant, plans a location at 223 Valencia Ave., the former Maroosh site. The Burn mentions hummus, mezze, bowls and charcoal-grilled meats. No opening date has been given. That makes it another case of one restaurant following another in the same room.
Ponce de Leon Is Getting the Additions
Head down Ponce de Leon Boulevard and the reports stop describing replacements and start describing new things.
Zuccaly began a soft opening today, October 8, at The Plaza Coral Gables, where its neighbors include MIKA, Cantina Leon, CVI.CHE 105 and Mottai. The Italian food hall comes from Erasmo Da Silva, who opened Zucca in the Gables in 2017. The Burn Miami lists six stations under one roof:
- Portavia Gastro Market: prepared foods, pantry staples and Italian imports to take home
- The Pasta & Risotto Hall: fresh pasta and risotto
- La Biga Pizza Hall: pizza made with a dough that takes six days
- The Grill & Fish Hall: live-fire chicken, prime cuts and fish alla brace
- Il Giardino: salads, antipasti, salumeria and Italian street food
- Dolci & Gelato: pastries, gelato and sweets
Soft-opening hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and Friday, October 9, then 1 to 8 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, October 10 and 11. The hall closes Monday and Tuesday after that, and later hours haven't been announced.
Two more arrivals are on the way to the 2600 block. H&H Bagels is in development at 2614 Ponce de Leon Blvd., the former Canton Too space. The Screaming Parrots, a Japanese-style café, is planned for 2626 Ponce de Leon Blvd., where Sospiro Wine Bar & Cucina used to be. Neither has an opening date yet.
Ponce Circle Park sits farther up the boulevard at 2810 Ponce de Leon Blvd., and that is where the city has put much of its fall programming.
The Calendar Clusters at Ponce Circle Park
Three of the city's headline fall events are at Ponce Circle Park. The Halloween events are spread around town, and the last Saturday of the month splits between the park and the Mile.
| Date | Event | Where | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri., Oct. 9 | Art in the Park | Ponce Circle Park | 7 p.m. |
| Sat., Oct. 17 | Coral Gables Pumpkin Patch | Ponce Circle Park | 2–6 p.m. |
| Sat., Oct. 17 | Giralda Plaza Artisan Market | Giralda Plaza | Check listing |
| Fri., Oct. 23 | Halloween Spooktacular | Adult Activity Center, 2 Andalusia Ave. | 1–4 p.m. |
| Sat., Oct. 24 | Kiddo-Ween Festival | Coral Gables Museum, 285 Aragon Ave. | 11 a.m.–4 p.m. |
| Sat., Oct. 24 | Gentle Trick or Treat | Ruth Bryan Owen Waterway Park, 3940 Granada Blvd. | 1–3 p.m. |
| Sat., Oct. 24 | Pumpkin Float | Coral Gables Country Club, 990 Alhambra Circle | 6–8 p.m. |
| Sat., Oct. 31 | Trick-or-Treat on the Mile | Miracle Mile | 3–6 p.m. |
| Sat., Oct. 31 | Día de los Muertos | Ponce Circle Park | Evening, confirm time |
Art in the Park returns tomorrow night with live music, visual art and food, and it comes back on November 13. The Pumpkin Patch on the 17th includes pumpkin decorating, face painting, music and a harvest market. On the same afternoon the Giralda Plaza Artisan Market brings in 20-plus local artisan vendors, with the plaza's restaurants and bars around them. Coral Gables Magazine lists the market on the first and third Saturdays.
October 31 is a Saturday this year. Trick-or-Treat on the Mile runs 3 to 6 p.m. with participating businesses and programming at Actors' Playhouse, 280 Miracle Mile. Día de los Muertos follows that evening at Ponce Circle Park with Mexican music, dance and food. The city's Halloween release lists it as 4 to 9 p.m., while the event page says 5 to 10 p.m. Check the city's Halloween roundup closer to the date before you set a time.
What Comes After October
Several of these openings are still pending. La Pecora Bianca is targeting November at the Shops at Merrick Park, 360 San Lorenzo Ave., Suite 1430, according to Miami New Times' fall preview. Havana Harry's, at 4612 S. LeJeune Rd., posted on October 2 that it is "getting ready" to welcome guests back after its remodel. Its homepage still gives only "Fall 2026" as the timing. Miami New Times says the Cuban-American menu returns with a substantially remodeled dining room.
Also keep in mind a closure early next month. The Coral Gables Museum closes November 2 through 8 for improvements. The Visitor Center reopens November 9 and the galleries on November 20. The museum is one of the listed stops for the monthly first-Friday Gables Gallery Night, which runs 6 to 10 p.m. November's first Friday is the 6th, which falls inside that closure week, so a Gallery Night route that evening will need to skip the museum's galleries.
At JJABREU Group, we follow which Coral Gables storefronts are changing hands and which blocks are adding new places, because that street-level picture shapes daily life in a neighborhood long before it appears in any report. If you'd like to talk about where downtown Coral Gables is heading, Schedule a Private Consultation with our team, or browse our Coral Gables neighborhood guide.
