If you have walked the promenade at Bal Harbour Shops anytime in the past year, you have passed at least one storefront wrapped in construction paper, its old signage gone and nothing yet announced behind the glass. For a mall built around exactly two anchors, Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue, with everything else curated one lease at a time, an empty restaurant space reads differently than it would in a strip center. People notice. People ask.
Two of those spaces are full again this year, and the story behind why they sat dark for so long says more about how this property operates than either menu does.
Why That Corner Sat Behind Construction Walls for So Long
The space at the entrance to Bal Harbour Shops, Unit 135, had been Le Zoo since late 2015. Stephen Starr's Riviera-style bistro ran there for a decade before its lease closed out at the end of April 2025, following the earlier departure of Aba from a nearby address. Two anchor restaurants leaving in succession is the kind of thing that gets noticed by anyone who eats there regularly.
What replaced Le Zoo did not happen quickly, and the timeline explains why. Jeffrey Chodorow, the restaurateur behind the original China Grill, signed his lease for the Bal Harbour Shops space back in July 2021, nearly four years before Le Zoo's lease actually expired. He then waited out Starr's remaining term, followed by another twelve to fifteen months of construction and design, before China Grill reopened at the same address on June 9, 2026. From signature to service, the deal took five years. From the original China Grill's 2012 closure to its Bal Harbour debut, fourteen.
That is not how leasing usually works at a shopping center built for turnover and volume. It is how it works at a property where the landlord would rather leave a corner empty for a year than fill it with the wrong name.
Two Comebacks, Two Different Bets
China Grill and Slim's arrived within months of each other this year, but they represent two different plays.
Chodorow's China Grill is a full brand revival. The original closed in 2012 when Chodorow stepped away from it, and the concept went dormant with him. Bringing it back at Bal Harbour means rebuilding a following from a decade-old memory, on a mall's clock rather than his own. The menu leans into that legacy on purpose, with shareable dishes like lobster pancakes and lamb spare ribs alongside newer additions like Peking duck and black cod dumplings, according to its OpenTable listing.
Slim's is a different kind of move. Rather than bringing back a shuttered name, Starr's organization simply rotated within its own footprint. When Makoto relocated to a larger, redesigned space at the mall in 2022, it left behind its original smaller room. Starr filled that room himself with Slim's, a midcentury-styled steakhouse built around leather banquettes and vintage murals, first reported by Miami New Times ahead of a spring 2026 opening. That timeline has since come and gone, and Slim's is now seating guests in the old Makoto room. Starr didn't lose ground at Bal Harbour Shops. He compounded it, running two concepts where he used to run one.
For anyone who has wondered why the old Makoto address changed personality entirely while Makoto itself kept humming along a few doors down in its newer home, that's the answer. Same owner, same mall, two different rooms doing two different jobs.
What's Actually on the Table Right Now
For residents planning a weeknight dinner or a visit from out-of-town guests, here's where things stand as of this summer:
- China Grill – Reopened June 9, 2026, in the former Le Zoo space at the mall's entrance. Family-style Asian fusion, open daily for lunch, brunch, and dinner.
- Slim's – Open in the former Makoto space. Steakhouse format with a Hollywood golden-age design concept from Stephen Starr's team.
- Makoto – Still running in its larger, India Mahdavi-designed space on the third floor, with more outdoor seating and additional sushi counter seats than the original room.
- Carpaccio – Italian seafood, walk-ins welcome, no reservations required.
- Avenue 31 Café – A European-style all-day café concept that originated in Monaco.
The Rest of the Restaurant Row Didn't Blink
It is worth being clear that this is a story about two spaces, not a mall-wide overhaul. Carpaccio kept its walk-in policy through the whole transition. Hillstone kept its reputation as the reliable lunch option. None of the turnover touched the beachfront dining at Rivage.
Beyond the mall itself, the walkable stretch around Bal Harbour has its own steady lineup that had nothing to do with any of this. La Goulue, the French bistro helmed by chef Christian Delouvrier, keeps its sidewalk tables full most evenings. At the St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort, Atlantikós serves Greek dishes built around ingredients sourced from Piraeus. Mister Collins, tucked into One Bal Harbour Resort & Spa, still does its poolside burgers and lobster rolls with an Atlantic view, per local restaurant coverage of the area. None of that changed while Le Zoo's old corner sat under wraps.
Why This Is Only the Start
The timing of both openings lines up with something bigger happening at the property. Bal Harbour Shops marked its 60th anniversary in 2025, and Whitman Family Development, the same family that has owned and leased the mall directly since Stanley Whitman opened it in 1965, has been funding a multi-year expansion that adds more than 30 new stores and, according to FashionNetwork's coverage of the project, further builds out the mall's dining lineup specifically. Fourth-generation CEO Matthew Whitman Lazenby now runs a leasing model that has always preferred a longer wait for the right tenant over a faster fill for foot traffic.
If China Grill and Slim's are any indication, the corners that open next at Bal Harbour Shops won't be filled by whoever is available first. They'll be filled by whoever the Whitman family decides is worth the wait, however long that takes.
For anyone who calls Bal Harbour, Bay Harbor Islands, or Surfside home, that is the useful thing to know heading into the rest of the year. The empty storefront you pass tomorrow isn't a sign of anything slowing down. It is usually a sign that someone bigger is still on the way.
If you are considering a move within this stretch of the coast, or simply want a local advisor who tracks these details as closely as the restaurants themselves, Shayna Hanson welcomes the conversation. Request a Private Consultation to talk through what's changing in the neighborhoods you already know well.
