After a night out in South Beach in the 1990s, the News Café became an A-Lister gathering place to start an evening, end it, or pass the hours in between.
But the famous 24/7 breakfast, with its eponymous newsstand of newspapers and magazines, made headlines on its own when it was revealed that it was the last place the late fashion designer Gianni Versace visited before he was gunned down on the steps of his neighbor’s house. Miami Beach Mansion, July 15, 1997 hilarious killer Andrew Cunanan.
News Cafelike South Beach and the Versace empire, survived and prospered.
And after a brief closure for renovations, the restaurant reopened in early March — more than 30 years after renowned Manhattan and Miami club owner and restaurateur Mark Soika first opened its doors in 1988 in the then dilapidated South Beach neighborhood.
The restaurant was a landmark in the South Beach area in the 1980s under the direction of Jay’s close associate and friend, the late New York-based Goldman Properties founder Tony Goldman, who spearheaded a renaissance in South Beach – after spearheading similar adaptive restoration efforts. historical building. who breathed new life into Soho in New York.
The news cafe is located on the ground floor Tony Hotela 1930s Art Deco landmark and one of many historic buildings that Goldman has lovingly restored, turning South Beach into a design mecca.
In 2021, Goldman Properties acquired the News Café brand and partnered with Vida & Estilo Restaurant Group to oversee its opening and management. (Coincidentally, Vida & Estilo opened their Oh! Mexico Taco Shop chain’s first restaurant the year Versace was murdered – it’s now one of South Florida’s largest hotel groups, with 19 eateries in Miami and three more in Las Vegas.)
Jamil Dib, founder and co-owner of restaurant group Vida & Estilo, said The News Café was a great source of inspiration for him.
“It was the American Dream,” Dib told The Post. “I used to walk around at night watching the people sitting there. It was full of top supermodels, people from film, music and the fashion industry. You would have seen Madonna and Versace would have taken care of his balls Benedict.”
For Dib, this is more than just another restaurant opening, he willingly took on the icon and its legacy – and carefully, deliberately preserving the now vintage interior.
“We had to redo the whole place, but also try to keep the essence,” he said. — It would be easier to demolish all this, but we kept the same tin ceiling, the same floor, the same walls. What needed to be fixed, we fixed.”
The same almost goes for the original menu.
Local chef Henry Hahne, founder of the popular Brickell restaurant. B bistrothe task was to both update the menu and keep favorite classics like Tony’s semi-legendary tomato soup.
“[Tonyâs daughter] Jessica just tried it and she loved it. We ask the right people what they think, the old regulars know best,” Dib said. “But Henry interprets certain dishes in his own way, like eggs Benedict. He serves them unassembled in a cup. Just dip the bread in the egg – it’s fantastic… French toast… You can’t eat just one. You just want to keep eating and eating more.”
All this will not help today’s supermodels stay slim.
Party goers will have to forgo the legendary post-club carb binge: The restaurant won’t be open 24 hours—not yet, but that’s something Dib is looking into. At the moment, these are three squares and an exquisite tea and coffee service.
The newsstand still has newspapers and magazines, but not in the same way as before. Visitors can also scan the QR code and download newspapers on their phones or tablets. The younger generation that Dib hopes to attract is simply unfamiliar with the ancient craft of paper reading.
“I had to show my kids how to read the paper,” Deeb joked.
However, Deeb wants new customers to understand the restaurant’s heritage, so a gallery on the main wall of about 100 photos and memorabilia, including a photo of Versace, has added QR codes with links to short videos explaining who is who and what was what.
“From 1988 to the present,” Dib said. “This is a roadmap that is not yet complete.”
Dib never dated Versace – “He was already a big star in the fashion world, and I was still washing dishes,” he said.
Dib said the day Gianni Versace was killed while doing his favorite morning ritual of entering the News Café still haunts him.
“It was shocking, ugly and sad,” he said. “But there are so many good memories associated with this place. The News Cafe has been instrumental in the rebirth of South Beach. This is a mission. Sure, we’re here to make money, but it’s also for our community.”
Credit: nypost.com /