Popular south Beach restaurant News Cafe reopens after renovation

News Café was the go-to place for A-Listers to begin or end their night, or to spend hours in between, after a night out in 1990s South Beach.

The restaurant made headline news when it was revealed as the last place Gianni Versace visited before he was gunned down on the steps of his nearby Miami Beach mansion by spree killer Andrew Cunanan.

After a brief shuttering for renovations, News Café reopened in March 2022, more than 30 years after renowned club owner and restaurateur Mark Soyka first opened its doors in 1988 in the then-dilapidated South Beach district.

The restaurant was a landmark in the 1980s South Beach groundswell led by Soyka’s close associate and friend, the late Tony Goldman, who spearheaded a renaissance in South Beach.

News Café is located on the ground floor of The Tony Hotel, a 1930s Art Deco landmark, and one of many historic properties Goldman lovingly restored, turning South Beach into a design mecca.

In 2021, Goldman Properties acquired the News Café brand and partnered with Vida & Estilo Restaurant Group to oversee its reopening and management.

Jamil Dib, founder and co-owner of Vida & Estilo Restaurant Group, said The News Café was a big inspiration to him.

Dib has willingly taken on an icon and its legacy, keeping the interior’s now-vintage feel while renovating the entire place.

Local chef Henry Hané, founder of Brickell’s popular B Bistro, was charged with both updating the menu and keeping beloved classics, like the semi-legendary Tony’s tomato soup.

Dib hopes new customers understand the restaurant’s legacy, so the main wall’s gallery of around 100 photos and memorabilia, including a photograph of Versace, adds QR codes linking to short videos explaining who’s who and what was what.

News Café’s newsstand still has newspapers and magazines, but diners can also scan a QR code and download newspapers to their phones or tablets.

Dib wants to attract younger customers, but he hopes to keep the essence of the place.

The restaurant won’t be open 24 hours, but it’s something Dib is looking into. For now, it’s three squares and an elaborate coffee and tea service.

Dib said the day Gianni Versace was killed still haunts him, and he wants people to remember News Café as an essential part of South Beach’s revival.

“This is a mission. Sure we are here to make money, but this is also for our community,” he said.