Closed: The Last Vestiges Of Karu & Y
Karu & Y is officially closed, for good this time. Despite the talk of re-opening the restaurant with a new menu, we had a feeling that wasn't going to happen, especially in this market. The Miami Herald reports today that the club/lounge is joining the restaurant's shuttered status:
Celeb not-so-hot spot Karu & Y is way done.Yes, but we're guessing they weren't restaurants in which the owners needed to recoup a $25 million investment in a part of town that is still seeing very little gentrification.The $25 million downtown Miami restaurant closed in February and now Y Ultralounge, the other glitzy half of the complex, has shuttered its doors, too.
Opened in September 2006, Karu never could seem to shake the fact that it was on the edge of an impoverished section of Overtown. High-end patrons often had to be escorted to their cars by bodyguards, and kids on bikes peddled around the entrance asking for money.
Attempts to contact the restaurant/lounge owners were unsuccessful.
Karu's former publicist, Susan Brustman, had high hopes when the restaurant opened, saying then: ''In other cities, restaurants have turned neighborhoods around,'' she said.
Karu & Y: Stick a fork in it [Miami Herald]
More News On The Karu & Y Closing [MP: South Florida]
Closed: Karu Restaurant & Y [MP: South Florida]
Comments
This was not a restaurant, nor was it a club. It was a money laundering operation. As a great man once said, "Mission Accomplished." Suckers.
Posted by: Miami Danny | June 5, 2008 10:57 PM
Aren't there a bunch of clubs (PS14 and Vagabond, to name two on the same block) thriving here? Overtown means black people, but the Herald never bitches about Vagabond or PS 14, etc. They are two blocks away. That's your story.
Posted by: Miami Danny | June 5, 2008 11:06 PM