About six years ago, David Grutman took Noah Tepperberg on a boat ride around Miami. The Groot Hospitality founder wanted to show his best friend, the co-CEO of Tao Group Hospitality alongside co-CEO Jason Strauss, a property he had recently purchased.

The landmark Mediterranean Revival building, which first opened in 1926 as the home of the Miami Women’s Club, was situated right on the shores of Biscayne Bay. Grutman thought the historic waterfront structure was the perfect venue for his first-ever partnership with Tepperberg: a lively restaurant that would make an indelible impression on the up-and-coming Edgewater neighborhood.