Coney Burger and Shorty's Are Losing Their Homes. What Two Closings Say About Owning a Restaurant in Miami
A burger brand born at a 2022 Smorgasburg pop-up and a 75-year-old barbecue landmark are both leaving their buildings within a month of each other. For independent owners, the common thread is who con
MIAMI — Two very different Miami restaurants announced their endings within a week of each other this month. One is a burger brand that started as a Smorgasburg pop-up in 2022. The other has been smoking ribs on U.S. 1 since 1951. Neither says it is done for good. Both are losing their buildings.
For anyone running an independent shop in Miami-Dade, the two stories are worth reading side by side.
Coney Burger: “We are not the highest bidder”
Coney Burger will close its downtown Miami location at 1306 N. Miami Ave. on Nov. 30, Miami New Times reported on Nov. 11. Owners chef Pedro Lara and Vanessa Lara, a Venezuelan husband-and-wife team, announced the news on Nov. 10 and said their time at the address was ending sooner than expected.
Vanessa Lara was direct about why in a video shared on Instagram: “Miami is home to the highest bidder, and we are not the highest bidder. We just want to make a damn good burger,” she said, according to New Times.
The business has a classic Miami small-business arc. It began as a pop-up at Smorgasburg Miami in 2022, won Smorgasburg’s Burger Battle and took New Times’ Best Burger award in 2023 before moving into a brick-and-mortar space. It built a following on Wagyu burgers, plant-based options and specials such as a World Burger Series launched in June, with limited-edition collaborations featuring chefs from different countries.
The couple has not announced a new location or reopening date. Vanessa Lara hinted that something may be in the works: “We’ve been praying for God to open doors, and we are in awe of the way he’s been answering,” she said in the video, as quoted by New Times.
Shorty’s: 75 years, then a developer
The second closing has been coming for a while. Shorty’s Bar-B-Q announced on its website on Nov. 3 that its original Dadeland restaurant at 9200 S. Dixie Hwy. will close for good on Sunday, Dec. 27, 2026.
“Since 1951, Shorty’s BBQ has been part of South Florida’s story,” the company wrote.
The reason is redevelopment. As Miami New Times reported, developers Florida Value Partners and Atlantic Pacific Companies bought the property, along with an adjacent parcel, for $14.5 million in 2022. Shorty’s CEO Mark Vasturo told customers at the time that the restaurant had a lease and would stay open. In September 2025, the restaurant confirmed to New Times that the flagship would eventually close and be demolished.
Founded by E.L. “Shorty” Allen, the restaurant’s original building burned down and was rebuilt in 1971, according to New Times. It survived fires, hurricanes and decades of change on South Dixie Highway.
Unlike Coney Burger, Shorty’s has somewhere to send its regulars. Its West Miami location on Bird Road and its Davie location will stay open, and the company is promoting its catering and events business as part of the transition.
The common thread: control of the real estate
The two closings have different causes on paper. Coney Burger is losing a lease; Shorty’s is losing a building that was sold out from under its long-running operation. But they share one thing: in both cases the restaurant did not control the land, and the land became worth more to someone else.
That is a familiar pressure for Miami operators, and it plays out in a few predictable ways:
- Lease length matters more than the brand. Shorty’s had a lease when the property sold in 2022, which bought it roughly four more years. A strong customer base did not change the outcome once the owner had redevelopment plans.
- Multiple locations are a hedge. Shorty’s can absorb the loss of its flagship because it has two other restaurants. A single-location shop like Coney Burger has to rebuild from scratch.
- Community is an asset that can move. Coney Burger’s pop-up roots and loyal following are exactly what gives it a shot at reopening elsewhere. Fans on Instagram wrote, “Oh no, but can’t wait for your next chapter,” New Times reported.
Where help exists
Public programs will not solve a rent gap on their own, but some new ones are aimed at small operators. In Little Haiti, the Little Haiti Revitalization Trust launched a new website, littlehaititrust.com, and opened its fourth-quarter funding cycle, The Miami Times reported Nov. 3. The trust runs eight programs, including a small business grant, from a $6 million budget, and says it has approved $330,000 in small business grant awards over a three-year track record.
For Coney Burger, the immediate goal is simpler: get customers in the door before Nov. 30. Shorty’s is asking longtime fans to visit Dadeland one more time before Dec. 27 and to share memories and photos of 75 years on U.S. 1.
Both businesses will likely outlast their buildings. The question for the next generation of Miami restaurateurs is how many will get the chance to grow long enough to face the same problem.