"The corner sat empty long enough," Anthony Mejia said this summer, when he and three partners reopened 701 NE 79th St. as Upper Eastside Hangout. "We're here because we live here. We saw what was missing, and we wanted to be the ones to build it."
You could stick that quote on most of this fall's openings around NE Second Avenue and it would still fit. Over the past two months, the restaurants arriving between 79th Street and the low 80s have mostly come from people who already had a stake in the area. One is a taqueria that moved its dining room into the factory where it has made tortillas for years. Another is a wine bar crew opening a second spot a few doors down. The third is a group of neighbors who brought back a corner bar that had been closed since 2024. That explains why the block feels different this season, and why part of it is still on the way.
A Corner Running on a 1937 License
Upper Eastside Hangout opened in late August. It's an open-air food and cocktail garden run by All We Need Hospitality Group, which was formed by Travis Rogers, John Fortini, Anthony Mejia and Victor Ramos, who all live in the neighborhood. "We live in the area, and we know this has been missing for a while now," Rogers said when the group announced the opening.
People who have lived here a while will recognize the building. The property's liquor license goes back to 1937, which makes it one of the oldest continuously operating licenses in the city. For decades the corner was Magnum Lounge, a piano bar with loyal regulars. In March 2016, Bar Lab cofounders Gabe Orta and Elad Zvi reopened it as The Anderson, an '80s-themed cocktail bar named for Hugh Anderson, the developer who helped build the Venetian Causeway. Restaurateur Ken Lyon bought The Anderson in 2019, and it closed in 2024.
The new layout is different from any of those earlier versions. The courtyard seats more than 250 people at picnic tables, high-tops and kid-size picnic tables, under shade sails strung with lights. LED screens show games and movie nights, and there's cornhole and a foosball table. At the end of a palm-lined path is the Original Bar Shack, a coral-and-green striped little house with 15 seats in 200 square feet. The group calls it "Miami's smallest cocktail bar."
A license that has outlived three bars carried over to a fourth, and the people running it this time live a few blocks away.
A Taqueria That Moved Into Its Own Factory
A few blocks north, Taquiza did the same kind of thing in its own way. Steve Santana's taco spot is 12 years old and recommended by the Michelin Guide. It reopened in late August at 8246 NE Second Ave., less than three weeks after its last day on Ocean Terrace in North Beach.
The Little River address wasn't new to the business. The counter-service restaurant sits inside the commissary and tortilla factory that has supplied Taquiza's restaurants and wholesale customers for more than three years. The masa is made on Celorio equipment imported from Mexico, from organic, non-GMO corn.
Being next to the mill changed what's on the plate. Taquiza used blue corn for its tacos for years. In Little River the tacos come on stone-ground yellow corn, while the totopos are still heirloom blue. Tacos come in pairs with your choice of two or three house salsas, including salsa taquero, salsa cremosa and chile de árbol. The carnitas taco uses slow-braised pork with orange and cinnamon. The crispy fish taco is masa-fried cod with cabbage and salsa tatemada. The rajas taco has charred poblanos, onions, mushrooms and cilantro-jalapeño crema. The restaurant says the whole menu is gluten-free and seed oil-free, and the kitchen cooks with organic Fera fruit oil.
Same Owners, a Few Doors Down
Across the avenue, Magie Wine Bar at 8281 NE Second Ave. runs Friday wine tastings and late-night events. Its co-owner, Caroline Strauss, and her husband, Ivan Barros, a winner of Ciao House, are opening Bar Fideo at 8291 NE Second Ave., just steps from Magie.
The concept is a Spanish-inspired bar that won't take reservations, so you can come in for one plate and a drink or stay all night. The namesake dish is fideo with littleneck clams, chorizo and herb aioli. Miami New Times listed it as "Opening fall 2026" on September 24. The Miami Guide's openings roundup updated today, September 30, still says only "Late 2026," with no date.
One more possible opening is on the same stretch. Anako, a Filipino restaurant at 8222 NE Second Ave., was listed on September 24 as an October possibility based on its Instagram bio. The Infatuation reviewer said details were thin and hadn't visited yet.
Here's where the block stands today, heading north:
- 8222 NE Second Ave., Anako. Filipino. October has been mentioned, but nothing is confirmed.
- 8246 NE Second Ave., Taquiza. Open since late August, with counter service inside the tortilla factory.
- 8281 NE Second Ave., Magie Wine Bar. Open, with Friday tastings and late-night events.
- 8291 NE Second Ave., Bar Fideo. Announced for late 2026, no reservations once it opens.
Two of the four are serving now. The other two depend on people already tied to the area, whether that's Magie's owners or a kitchen that has only been described so far. Both projects are still unfinished.
October Fills In the Blocks Around It
With half of the 8200 block still to come, much of what's dated this fall happens a short walk or drive away.
The Miami Herald's ¡Salud! cocktail promotion runs October 1 through 31. Participating venues offer three or four discounted cocktails, ordered before 10 p.m. on set nights. The Herald's Little River participants include Fooq's and Bar Bucce. Beyond the neighborhood, the list also covers Ball & Chain and Café La Trova in Little Havana and Double Knot in Wynwood. Fooq's is at 150 NW 73rd St., serving wood-fired American food with Persian influences and running the Lion's Den music venue upstairs. Bar Bucce, at 7220 N Miami Ave., comes from the Macchialina team and combines a pizzeria, bottle shop and provisions market built around naturally leavened pizza. The Herald doesn't list the exact drinks or nights for each venue, so check with the bar before you go.
The art calendar is just as busy, and much of it is south of 79th Street:
- October 3, 8 to 10 p.m. "Vestigio Atemporal," a free performance and art presentation by Alexis Rivero at MIA Curatorial Projects, 6945 NE Third Ave.
- October 4, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Progressive Art Brunch, self-guided gallery visits across Little River, Little Haiti and the Performing Arts District. It runs again November 29.
- October 8, 7 to 9 p.m. Artist Bethany Collins in conversation at Locust Projects, 297 NE 67th St.
- October 10, noon to 5 p.m. Little Haiti Little River Art Days, with Locust Projects, Collective62, DEMACHINA, the Little Haiti Cultural Complex, Stanek Gallery, Studio 730, Diana Lowenstein Gallery, Dimensions Variable and Laundromat Art Space among the participants.
- October 10, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The free Pumpkin Spice Artisan Market at Miami Ironside in the Upper Eastside, with more than 45 local vendors.
- October 14, 7 to 9 p.m. Curator Talks with Rosario Güiraldes at Locust Projects.
- November 7 and 8. unKommon Eats Food Festival at Little River Studios, 300 NE 71st St., with restaurant pop-ups, chef collaborations, music and family programming.
October 10 is the busiest day on the list. Art Days and the Ironside market overlap from noon to 5 p.m., and both are close to the 79th Street corner. An afternoon of gallery stops can end at Upper Eastside Hangout's courtyard or at the Taquiza counter, both of which are open now and don't depend on an opening date.
What to Plan Around Right Now
As of today, you can plan on Taquiza, Magie Wine Bar and Upper Eastside Hangout on or near the NE Second Avenue corridor, plus Fooq's and Bar Bucce a few blocks southwest for ¡Salud! in October. Anako has an October target that only its own social media mentions. Bar Fideo's latest public timeline is "Late 2026." If you're planning a specific night at either one, the 8200 block will still be the right place for dinner. Just keep a backup open next door.
At The Paiz Group, we follow how blocks like this one change, from a reopened corner bar to a factory that now has a dining room, because those changes shape daily life where our clients live. If you'd like a local read on how the openings near you might affect your own plans in Little River or the Upper Eastside, we'd be glad to talk. Book a Consultation.
