Cafeteria Closes

Miami

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home > nightlife&clubs > Cafeteria Closes

May 31, 2007 12:55 PM
by

Cafeteria the downwardly-mobile South Beach eatery on Lincoln Road, has closed it's doors as of this week.

According to the general scuttlebutt around our ever-active CoolJunkie Forums, the closure is rumored to be due to the landlord raising the rent to an even-high-for-South Beach $75,000 dollars per month. Provided that this is the truth, the raising of the rent signified the final nail in the coffin of the embattled restaurant/lounge, which went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection late last year.

Opening in late 2003, Cafeteria on South Beach was the first outpost of the venerable New York City restaurant of the same name. The early hype promised a great variety of fare on the menu, as well as nightly themed events in the aptly-named 'Backstage Lounge', including events by top local event planner/party promoter Biz Martinez, along with his DJs Roland and 2004 CJ Spin-Off winner Rocky Castro.

After a few fits and starts, the venue reached it's potential, with world-renowned DJs and performers making surprise appearances, as well as random celebrities, both local and global, stopping in for a late-night/early morning bite. And, every Winter Music Conference, the venue would play host to a variety of off-the-radar performances from top talent like Danny Howells, Nic Fanciulli, James Zabiela, John Digweed, and many other luminaries of the dance music world, who would often stop by with the intention of grabbing a quick meal, but somehow end up on the decks playing anything from their own tracks to classic electro and hip-hop cuts.

Alas, the success was to be short-lived. Rumors of internal dissent within the managerial ranks as well as the aforementioned Chapter 11 situation of late last year proved that nothing is ever a sure thing in the Miami nightlife and entertainment scene.