A notice of commencement for an interior demolition was filed in March
In a deal that marks the end of a dynasty’s control, hospitality mogul David Grutman plans to take over The Forge in Miami Beach, The Real Deal has learned.
Alvin Malnik opened The Forge in the 1950s, and the glitzy restaurant was known as a hangout for celebrities like the late Frank Sinatra and Elizabeth Taylor.
The restaurant at 432 West 41st Street closed temporarily in 2019 with plans to reopen, until it was reported in December that the restaurant auctioned off its items. It was the second-oldest restaurant in South Florida after Joe’s Stone Crab, according to Malnik’s website. Malnik handed over control of the property to his son, Shareef Malnik, in the early 1990s.
Organized crime figures also frequented the Forge, according to the New York Times. The restaurant featured a 300,000-bottle vintage wine cellar, purple chandeliers, stained glass windows, and other extravagant furnishings.
Grutman, a restaurateur, nightclub owner, and newly-minted hotelier who is known for his LIV nightclub at the Fontainebleau, has been expanding since he sold a majority stake in his Groot Hospitality to Live Nation Entertainment for an undisclosed amount in 2019.
