Nearly 25 years after Sam Nazarian began reshaping Los Angeles nightlife, the hospitality entrepreneur is bringing one of his most recognizable restaurant brands to his own neighborhood.
Katsuya, the Japanese restaurant synonymous with Hollywood’s glamorous dining scene, will open at Thesis Hotel Miami Coral Gables in the first half of 2027. Joining it will be a new Mediterranean restaurant from acclaimed chef Fabio Trabocchi. This will mark his return to Coral Gables after closing his celebrated Italian restaurant, Fiola.
The openings are part of a larger partnership between SBE and Nolan Reynolds International (NRI). NRI developed Thesis Hotel and the surrounding Paseo de la Riviera development across from the University of Miami. Under the agreement, SBE has assumed responsibility for the hotel’s food, beverage, and events operations, including Mamey, the Collab, and Ivy Rooftop.
Sam Nazarian, chairman and CEO of SBE, built an empire that eventually included brands such as SLS Hotels, Hyde Lounge, Mondrian Hotels, and Katsuya
Provided by SBE Hospitality
From Hollywood bightlife to a Coral Gables homecoming
Founded in 2002, SBE emerged during a defining period for Los Angeles hospitality. It was when exclusive nightclubs, design-forward restaurants and celebrity-filled dining rooms helped shape the city’s social landscape.
Nazarian built an empire that eventually included brands such as SLS Hotels, Hyde Lounge, Mondrian Hotels, and Katsuya. He often blurred the lines between dining, nightlife, and entertainment. Over the following two decades, the company expanded internationally, entered the hotel business and increasingly invested in chef-driven restaurants and broader hospitality experiences.
Today, its ambitions look somewhat different. The Thesis partnership focuses on creating a destination that works as well for a neighborhood dinner as for a wedding, business gathering, or rooftop celebration.
For Nazarian, who lives in Coral Gables with his family, the project is also personal. “Coral Gables is home. My family and I live here, we eat here, and we celebrate here, so bringing Katsuya to my own community is personal,” Nazarian says. “We have an opportunity to build something that genuinely belongs to Coral Gables.”
The late master sushi chef Katsuya Uechi, founder of Katsuya, passed away at the age of 67
Katsuya’s next chapter honors a culinary pioneer
For longtime Los Angeles diners, Katsuya is more than a recognizable name. Master sushi chef Katsuya Uechi emigrated from Okinawa, Japan, to the United States in 1984. He opened his first Sushi Katsu-ya restaurant in Studio City in 1997.
The intimate neighborhood restaurant earned a devoted following, establishing Uechi as an influential figure in Japanese dining. He became especially known for dishes such as crispy rice with spicy tuna and seared albacore with crispy onions.
In 2006, Uechi partnered with Nazarian and SBE to launch Katsuya, a distinct, upscale restaurant concept that paired his culinary vision with dramatic design and a high-energy dining experience.
While the original Katsu-ya restaurants retained their neighborhood sushi bar identity, the SBE-backed Katsuya became a destination associated with Hollywood nightlife, stylish interiors and an international clientele.
The brand’s continued expansion is part of a larger story about the chef’s enduring impact on contemporary Japanese dining
Provided by SBE Hospitality
The forthcoming Coral Gables restaurant also arrives at a poignant moment in the brand’s history.
Uechi died June 24, 2026, at 67, leaving a culinary legacy that helped popularize dishes now found on Japanese-inspired menus worldwide. His influence remains central to Katsuya’s identity, making the brand’s continued expansion part of a larger story about the chef’s enduring impact on contemporary Japanese dining.
The Coral Gables location is expected to feature the Japanese cuisine, sushi, robata, and cocktails the brand is known for. Further menu and design details have not yet been announced.
Trabocchi’s cooking already has an established relationship with the local dining community
Provided by Fabio Trabocchi
Fabio Trabocchi returns with something entirely new
Alongside Katsuya, sbe is welcoming another familiar culinary name back to Coral Gables.
Chef Fabio Trabocchi, who opened Fiola in the city in 2018 and operated it through 2025, will introduce a new Mediterranean restaurant developed specifically for Thesis.
Rather than recreating Fiola, the forthcoming concept will establish its own identity, with its name, design and menu expected to be revealed ahead of the opening. Trabocchi’s return adds another layer of familiarity, bringing back a chef whose cooking already has an established relationship with the local dining community.
Together, Katsuya, Trabocchi’s new restaurant and Ivy Rooftop will offer three distinct dining and social experiences within the hotel.
Beyond the restaurants, SBE will oversee an expanded events program
Provided by SBE Hospitality/Thesis Hotel Miami Coral Gables
More than a hotel restaurant
For NRI, the partnership builds on the original vision for THesis as a gathering place for Coral Gables.
“We built THesis to be more than a hotel,” says Brent Reynolds, CEO of Nolan Reynolds International. “We wanted it to be a gathering place for Coral Gables, and for more than six years this community has made it one.”
Beyond the restaurants, SBE will oversee an expanded events program encompassing weddings, corporate gatherings, university functions, private dinners and celebrations.
The property includes 245 guest rooms, approximately 6,500 square feet of meeting and event space, and Ivy Rooftop, which can be reserved for private events.
The Coral Gables opening will mark a unique chapter for the swanky restaurant
Provided by SBE Hospitality/Thesis Hotel Miami Coral Gables
A new era for Thesis Hotel’s dining scene
For a hospitality company once closely associated with the velvet ropes and exclusive guest lists of Los Angeles nightlife, the emphasis on neighborhood connection marks an interesting progression.
The glamour hasn’t necessarily disappeared. It’s simply being paired with something more enduring: the idea that a great restaurant or hotel should become part of people’s everyday lives.
In Coral Gables, where family dinners, celebrations, and longstanding neighborhood institutions remain central to the dining culture, that may be the most compelling ambition of all.
Katsuya and Fabio Trabocchi’s Mediterranean Restaurant.1350 S. Dixie Hwy, at Thesis Hotel, Coral Gables; thesishotelmiami.com. Opening in early 2027.
AloJapan.com