Miami’s beloved Duffy’s Tavern has been sold. Here’s what we know

The sale so much of Miami feared has finally come to pass: Duffy’s Tavern, the beloved neighborhood spot where Miami gathered for beers, burgers and sports for almost 70 years, has been sold.

The property, a virtual museum of the history of Miami, at 2108 SW 57th Ave. in Miami, currently owned by Wayne Russell and James Fabbricatore, was sold for $4.5 million by 2112 Realty Corp. The buyer was Greenway Point, LLC, according to Kerdyk Real Estate, which represented the seller.

The sale was completed on July 26, but owner Wayne Russell, who has been at Duffy’s since he graduated with a business degree from the University of Miami in 1984, said that nothing feels that different yet. He’s still wheeling out the list of daily specials to tables full of locals (with a “bay view” drawn on the other side), serving cold ones and burgers and joking with customers who have been eating and drinking at Duffy’s for decades.

“I’m still working,” he said. “It doesn’t feel different. Just another day at the office. But now I’m a tenant, not a landlord.”

The plan, he said, is that he and his team will keep operating the business for the time being, “at least the next five months.”

Trae Kerdyk, senior associate at Kerdyk Real Estate, who represented the seller along with director of sales William Colas, confirmed that a plan was in place for Russell and his team to operate the restaurant for awhile. He estimated their involvement could last as long as a year.

“Duffy’s will remain a tenant,” he said. “It could be a year or two years — you never know what’s going to happen.”

Originally built as a residence and opened as Duffy’s by Martin Duffy in 1955, the property includes more than 30,000 square feet and the 3,180-square foot automotive building next door.

It has been home to Hurricanes, Heat and Dolphins watch parties, birthday celebrations, baby showers and business meetings. Memorabilia from the customers and staff hang on the walls and are shellacked onto the tables, giving the restaurant a homey feeling sorely lacking in most of Miami these days.

But Russell, despite his gregarious nature, seems to be willing to let go, though he’d love Duffy’s to continue here in some form. His six-month-old grand-daughter Olivia may be a big factor in his willingness to move on.

“I want to be a grandpa,” he said. “I want to do grandpa stuff. I want to write a book for her. I figure I’ve got five years to get that first chapter done.”