Venues

Peter Loftin, owner of Casa Casuarina, recently announced the opening of Loftin's 1116 Ocean eatery. The new dining spot is located in the famous Ocean Drive mansion and is open for dinner (7 to 11 p.m. nightly except Mondays) and private events only. The 60-person restaurant specializes in American seafood fare with Mediterranean influences prepared by of James Beard Award-winning chef Dale Ray.

Courtesy of Chef Allen's

A landmark restaurant in South Florida since opening in 1986, Chef Allen's of Aventura was recently renovated. Allen Susser, the restaurant's owner and a James Beard Award-winning chef, enlisted Amanda Rice of Rice Design to update, streamline, and modernize the look of the 120-seat space. The main bar, with 360-degree views of the wine room and main dining room, was expanded as well. A revamped seafood-focused menu has also been introduced in tandem with the renovation. Private Passion for Food receptions with Allen are available for groups, as well as a private room for 25, and a chef's table for eight to 10. Customized menus are available.

Rendering of Serafina Courtesy of the W South Beach Hotel

When the W South Beach Hotel & Residences opens this coming spring, it will feature two prestigious New York restaurants on its property: Mr. Chow and Serafina. Yabu Pushelberg, the design firm working on the hotel, will also design both restaurants.

Beginning October 1, Manny's Steakhouse-a recent addition to downtown Miami dining-will be open for private parties from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. Manny's has hosted daytime events sporadically in the past.

"While we cannot easily [host parties] in the evening, as a dinner-only restaurant, we can offer private parties the run of the house during the day," said general manager David Wilson.

Manny's can host events for as many as 200 people inside, with additional space for guests along its outdoor bar overlooking Biscayne Bay. A party reservation requires a $2,000 minimum order.

Karu & Y, the restaurant and nightspot that closed at the beginning of June, reopened the lounge part of its operation--now under new management after being purchased for $10 million by entrepreneur Clive Seecomar. The three-night celebration that began on Thursday brought throws of people to the downtown Miami location, including one of the stars of The Girls Next Door, Kendra Wilkinson.

On September 16, the Hyatt Regency Coral Gables received a Green Lodging certification from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. With this distinction, the hotel becomes the first of its kind in the city to receive the honor.

"We are very proud to be spearheading the green movement within the hospitality industry in Coral Gables," said Gabe Castrillon, the hotel's general manager.

Like all properties that are Green Lodging-certified, the hotel met standards for recycling, reduced water usage, and use of appliances that reduce energy consumption.

Within the next seven years, six Harris Rosen-owned hotels will add meeting space or new rooms-or both, in the case of the Rosen Plaza Hotel-for an estimated total cost of $100 million to $200 million.

Work should be complete within three years on meeting space and parking garage expansions at the Rosen Centre Hotel and the Rosen Plaza, which will subsequently offer 200,000 and 160,000 square feet of meeting space, respectively. After five years, renovations to guest rooms and restaurants at the Quality Inn Plaza, Quality Inn International, Rodeway Inn International, and Comfort Inn Lake Buena Vista locations should be finished. The last part of the project is the addition of 400 to 700 rooms to the Rosen Plaza, to be completed by 2012.

Central Florida now has one more restaurant option for events with the arrival of Gio's Cafe 1 in Sanford. The restaurant, specializing in Italian and Greek fare, has 1,600 square feet of interior space, provides off-site catering, and is available for buyout.

The performance space within the BankAtlantic Center formerly known as the Sinatra Theatre has been renamed Sawgrass Live. The venue will still offer the same services, with new variety for a new crowd.

"With Sawgrass Live, I think it'll mostly play to a younger audience, but we're not abandoning the older crowd, either. There will just be more variety," said Stuart Siegel, partner and managing director at Sunrise Sports and Entertainment, which manages the center.

Sawgrass Live can seat 3,000 to 5,000 people, depending on the seating configuration.

Though you may not be able to tell from the exterior-which still sports the signage of its former resident, Caffe Blu-Pesca seafood restaurant has been operating out of its Las Olas location for the past two months. Owned by chef Raul Navarro, the space has seating for 85-plus outdoor bistro-style seating-a 180-bottle collection of wines, and a wide variety of seafood dishes. Buyouts are available.