Boutique lifestyle hotel brand Joie de Vivre has announced that Top Chef alum Spike Mendelsohn will lead the food and beverage offerings at The Hall, the company's first east coast hotel that is set to open in Miami this summer.
The Hall is the first of two East Coast properties the brand announced back in January. The other, 50 Bowery in New York City’s Bowery neighborhood, is slated to open in 2016.
Mendelsohn will open his first Miami restaurant at The Hall, Sunny's -- named after his grandfather. The restaurant will be a casual courtyard eatery inspired by classic seaside cafes and beach bars. Designed by Robert McKinley, Sunny’s will blend rustic elements and the tropics with natural, hand-crafted wood tables, all-weather chairs made from reclaimed rebar, and a Florida keystone main countertop.
The breakfast, all-day and dinner menus will have Mendelsohn’s reinterpretations of classic favorites he’s enjoyed while traveling, including options such as Gulf Coast Grilled Grouper “Reuben” made with Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, Thousand Island and Cajun seasoning on marble rye; the Lifeguard Focaccia Myrtos Beach-Style made with ripe cherry tomatoes, feta, dried oregano, Greek olive oil on sea-soaked bread; and the Jersey Shore Pork Roll Breakfast Sandwich created with ham, American cheese, a sunny-side up egg and root vegetables on a bulky roll. Spike has also created a menu that will be served at Campton Yard, the hotel’s backyard bar and outdoor lounge area, premiering with made-to-order brick-oven pizzas. The menu will change seasonally to feature selections that reflect Spike’s current inspirations, travels and cravings.
The Rooms
McKinley is also designing the property's 164 guestrooms and public areas. The hotel will have three buildings, including its namesake – the historic Art Deco landmark, Haddon Hall, designed by world-renowned architect L. Murray Dixon. The newly-renovated, three-story buildings are connected via colorful pathways. Set on 1.4 acres, The Hall will also have an Olympic-sized pool flanked by cabanas, and a backyard bar and outdoor lounge with a colossal banyan tree as its centerpiece.
All rooms will have custom and reclaimed furnishings, such as wire mesh night tables; lacquer case goods in pastel green; salmon-colored louvered doors; and vivid artwork of palm trees, surfers and beach waves by famed photographer Scott Rudin. Each room is meant to evoke the feel of a cozy beach bungalow.