When news broke in September that two beloved Miami institutions — The Wynwood Yard and O Cinema Wynwood — would be displaced by a giant apartment building, even some of their most faithful clients assumed the businesses had closed.
But Della Heiman, who founded Wynwood Yard at 56 NW 29th Street in 2015, wants you to know the popular open-air culinary incubator and event space is still open.
“Business has dropped by 20-40 percent since the story broke,” Heiman said. “Many of our loyal customers think we are closed. The news spread like wildfire and most people focused on what was going to happen next year. But we don’t have a hard date for what our last day will be, and we’re gearing up for what we think is going to be our best season ever.”
Due to open in spring 2019, after the Wynwood location wraps up, The Doral Yard will measure a total of 20,000 square feet on the northeast corner of Main Street and Paseo Boulevard in downtown Doral.
The Doral Yard will be divided into three zones: A 5,000-square-foot indoor space, The Hall, featuring a micro food hall, full-service bar and cafe; CHARCOAL bar and grill, the full-service restaurant originally launched at Wynwood Yard, housed in refurbished shipping containers; and a 5,000-square-foot outdoor space, The Backyard, that will host music and live events.
“Aside from creating a space that makes everyone feel welcome, this project will be completely new and different than any of the projects we’ve worked on before,” said Ken Lyon, co-founder of Yard Hospitality. “With The Doral Yard, we crafted a concept that not only reflects and complements the Doral community, but also will help the community thrive. This will be an elevated experience, specifically created for the Doral market.”
Ana-Marie Codina Barlick, CEO of Codina Partners, developers of Downtown Doral, said she initially reached out to Heiman, Lyon and Wynwood Business Improvement District board chairman Joseph Furst and Goldman Properties as consultants for ideas on how to help give Doral the kind of unique destination vibe that Wynwood enjoys.
“We wanted to create something authentic, and as a natural progression of that conversation, we all came to the same conclusion that The Doral Yard would be great for us,” Codina said. “It allows us to serve our community and is also a play for people from Kendall, Hialeah and Miami Lakes. It will have a much more permanent feel than the Wynwood location because we have a brick-and-mortar component and the outdoor space won’t be gravel. The Doral Yard will be here for the foreseeable future.”
