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Domo Arigato, Mr. Ben-Zion
By Kris Conesa
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Former 411 columnist Jon Warech (left) returns from
California to hang with old PR friends. Photo by
Kris Conesa |
Amir Ben-Zion
can afford to be discerning when deciding where
he’s going to spend his time. However, the owner
of the Townhouse Hotel, Bond St. Lounge and Buck
15 only likes to kick it at places that meet his
sophisticated, chic, trendsetting style. A South
Beach local, Ben-Zion can be found drinking his
daily cafecito at David’s Café, but on
the weekends, when the bridge-jumpers invade the
33139, he feels a bit crowded.
That, in fact, is one of the reasons the man who is best known for
his Beach destinations decided to open the
Design District’s newest hangout — Domo Japones,
a sushi/bistro/lounge that is an amalgamation of
all of Ben-Zion’s favorite things. Whether it’s
the fantastic food, the bevy of trendsetting
locals or the art hanging on the walls,
Ben-Zion’s hangouts attract an artsy,
in-the-know, just plain cool clientele. So why
the sudden interest in the Design District,
particularly from a man who, up until now, has
done his best work on the Beach?
“Between Wynwood, the Design District and Midtown, this is it right
now,” he said. “This is the next
SoHo, the next Chelsea. Besides, I’m a South
Beach local. I’m at David’s Café every day
drinking my Cuban coffee. On the weekends, the
locals get pushed out. I wanted to have a place
we could come to and relax have a drink and
enjoy the beautiful people or the art on the
walls.”
The man who owns all my favorite hangouts certainly has a penchant
for style. Walk into Domo and, aside from a
fantastic culinary experience, expect to find
servers dressed in trendy, elegant attire and,
possibly, wearing their sunglasses at night.
The opening drew a fantastic crowd of VIPs and local celebrities,
and this place is sure to be a weekend
destination all your friends will be talking
about.
Pimpin’ with Pico
Speaking of local celebrities, I would be remiss if I didn’t give a
shot out to one of
South
Beach’s most talked about promoters. I'm
speaking, of course, about none other than the
Champagne Kid, or just plain Pico,
as his friends know him. One of the hardest
working promoters on the beach, Pico and his
crew are best known for their Saturday night
party at the newly revamped B.E.D. nightclub.
“B.E.D. is my favorite of all my parties, mostly because it’s the
first one that I was the primary partner at,”
Pico said. “I have a lot in store for that
venue. I’ve already convinced the owners to take
out some of the beds and create and ultra hip
VIP area.”
B.E.D. is where his harem of the hottest women in
Miami sips free champagne while lying down on
the comfort of a cozy pillow. Still, that badass
party is just one of the many where this
shaggy-haired youngster kicks it.
With parties at Table 8 on Wednesday, Suite on Thursdays,
Mokaï on Fridays and, of course, B.E.D. on
Saturdays, Pico has quickly become a
South Beach standard at all of the most
exclusive party destinations on the Beach.
How does he do it? Well, according to the pimpin’ promoter, it’s
all about the women — the more you bring, the
cooler you are, and Pico is big pimpin’ these
days.
“I used to work for the Opium Group for like five years,” he said.
“I learned a lot from that place. I’ve taken the
lessons learned there and tried to incorporate
them into my business practices.”
Evidently, they were lessons he took to heart. If women are
South Beach’s main currency, it’s safe to say
that this promoter is a very rich man.
The 822
The 411
became The 822 this week when my
predecessor, the mighty Jon Warech,
joined me for an excursion to Hotel Astor, where
chef John Suley and financier Michael
Kurgan recently opened their latest
incarnation of their Boca Raton eatery Café
Joley. Located on the hotel’s ground floor,
the restaurant features American cuisine
peppered with European influences. The food,
however, was the last thing on the OK!
Magazine celebrity stalker’s mind. Warech,
who recently was spotted pontificating on all
things Lindsay Lohan on E!
Entertainment, is in town for the holidays
and couldn’t resist hooking up with his former
305 cronies — most notably, a bevy of beautiful
publicists. Mad props to Warech for showing this
information operator how it’s done.
Spotted:
Local artist Lebo at the opening of Domo Japones in the
Design District on Tuesday.
Rapper Pitbull, laughing at the cop who arrested him for a
DUI on Friday morning.
Maybe he was just Waiting, but Justin Long and lover
Drew Barrymore were at the
Delano around
2 a.m. Friday.
Got the 411? E-mail
the411@miamisunpost.com
Comments? E-mail
letters@miamisunpost.com
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