New Yorker Patio Bar adds a tasteful MiMo Art Brunch to palette of Art Week happenings

New Yorker Patio Bar’s Camilo Peña and Alejandro Marin.

Nothing quite captures the attention of an entire city like Art Basel. And this year, the world-class exhibition is expanding well beyond Miami Beach and Midtown, with artsy gatherings, big and small, all across the metro area – including one right in MiMo’s backyard.

Well, the backyard of the New Yorker Hotel, that is, the most iconic address in the Miami-Modern District – and home of the New Yorker Patio Bar, an up-and-coming hot spot at 6500 Biscayne Boulevard.

With so much happening around town, Proprietor Camilo Peña says it only made sense to add a unique and tasteful “Art Brunch” to the palette of places to go, people to see, and things to do – on Dec. 9 starting at noon.

This stylish afternoon soiree isn’t intended to compete with mainline Art Week events. Rather, it will attract a mix of locals and visitors looking for a welcome oasis beyond the hustle bustle – especially one serving up good food, designer drinks, and the type of light-and-lively energy that’s become a trademark of the Miami-Modern District.

Guests get into live music on Fridays and live DJs on Saturday nights.

“Few events cause greater traffic woes, too, right?” smirked Peña. “So for those who find it more alluring to stay close to home during Miami Art Week, we’re here for you.”

Regular hours at the New Yorker Patio Bar are Tuesdays through Sundays from 4 p.m. – “until it’s time to close at 1 or 2 a.m.,” he says. Peña first opened for business this past spring with his Operational Partner Alejandro Marin.

Art Brunch Sunday
But on this Sunday, Art Brunch at the Patio Bar will start at noon with mimosas and mixed drinks, and an impressive selection of delicious food.

Guests will have a chance to mingle with area vendors selling art, clothing, and accents for women in the patio courtyard. They’ll also meet several of the mural artists who are helping transform this garden spot into a unique and colorful incubator of art.

All of this will take place upon a backdrop of cool tunes, as local “Dive” DJs spin their vinyl.

Peña says he and Marin mostly just want folks in the neighborhood to get to know the Patio as a great spot to sit and relax and enjoy local art-filled moment,” as he describes it, “especially this week, away from the maddening crowds of the art shows.”

Following this first Sunday brunch, they say they’ll figure out if this is something the neighborhood truly wants. “I mean, it’s really been that way from the beginning. We go in the direction our guests take us.”

Art Brunch guests will mingle with vendors and several of the artists.

Artfully Done
In fact, that’s how the expansive exhibit of mural-art got started. Peña says a local neighborhood artist had the idea to paint a wall – and there are a lot of walls overlooking the garden area.

“Many of my friends are artists, so pretty quickly they began offering to come in and share their work,” he continued. Now, it’s suddenly emerged as a natural home for other artists, mostly of South American descent, along with musicians, writers, and singers.

“MiMo is such an eclectic neighborhood, full of passionate and friendly people – and our establishment should reflect that.”

Peña, 36, came to Miami a couple years back out of the fast-paced bar and food industry in Las Vegas, where he learned the ropes of both front-end and back-office operations. Before that, he attended art school in his hometown of Bogota, but all that changed when he had an opportunity to move to the States.

Still today, he fashions himself more as an art lover than a bar and restaurant entrepreneur, but the Patio Bar has given him the good fortune to successfully meld the two together.

The New Yorker Patio Bar is at 589 NE 65th St., though most enter through the front of the New Yorker at 6500 Biscayne Blvd.

New York, New York
The New Yorker Patio Bar is tucked just behind the familiar aqua and bright white New Yorker Hotel on the west side of the Boulevard, facing Legion Park. Owned by Shirley Díaz and Walter Figueroa, this family-run 50-room hotel displays a kitschy combo of contemporary decor and mid-century era accents. And it’s no wonder, since its housed within the shell of an old 1950s motel.

A few years ago, Travel Channel’s “Hotel Impossible” revamped the outside garden area where the Patio Bar cabana now sits, turning it into a lovely, cozy spot with lanterns hanging from the trees, candle-lit tables, bright colors, and comfy seating.

But Peña and his business partner are slowly transforming it into more of a local hub for neighborhood artists and hipsters, writers, and musicians – as a place to show up and share expressions of their respective disciplines.

The weekly line up now consists of live music on Fridays featuring guitar and violin players and pianists who audition ahead of time to come in to play. Also on Fridays, a “Nacho Bizness” taco truck is wheeled on property, run by Mobile Food Truck & Catering Owner Joseph Torrente. Que rico!

Saturday night is DJ night, with hot mixes serving as a warm-up for local partygoers heading out from here for a longer night of clubbing downtown or on the Beach.

Peña and Marin are still experimenting with the Wednesday and Thursday offerings, trying an open-mic and micro-concert night concept. We’ll see…

There’s even talk of expanding into to the property next door, a house abutting the cabana, to open a full-service restaurant. But for now, the plan is simple: “We just want to offer a beautiful place for the neighbors and everyone to feel like our guests, where they can come by for a jump in the pool, have a drink, take in the surroundings, and share… And then they all become friends.

“I am just a hospitality guy with a deep love of art and bringing people together.”

Featured Artists:

  • Caro Blaha (Art Director) @Caro Blaha
  • Camilo Hernandez @camiloh.art
  • Paloma Duenas @photograpybypaloma
  • Renda Whiter  @Renda Writer
  • alfredo barranco @alfred119
  • Ricardo Arise @rarispe
  • Sonia sanchez @bysojadesign
  • Michelle Acosta @michelleramand
  • Arianna Arteaga Quintero @arianuchis
  • Muta @mutavision @freeone11

Musicians:

  • Acosta @acostaofficial
  • Brasoul @brasolmusicofficial

Resident Djs: 

  • Mayra Jaimes @_maja_86
  • Michael Keehl @m_keehl

The physical address for the New Yorker Patio Bar is 589 NE 65th St., although most people enter through the front lot of the New Yorker at 6500 Biscayne Blvd. For information, drop a note at m.me/newyorkerpatiobar or call 305-759-0357.


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2 COMMENTS

  1. My husband and I stayed at the hotel in 2015. The parking was a bit of a problem back then, and the noise level was awful! I just read that hotel guest seriously can’t find parking, AT ALL!
    How do you you plan on fixing this? Or do you no longer care about the hotel? We were planning on staying again this summer, but from what we read on the hotel reviews, it doesn’t sound like a relaxing stress free place to stay on vacation. Maybe the owners just wanna be popular hipsters, rather than hoteliers?!

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