‘Top Chef’ star opening Riviera by Fabio Viviani inside new Fort Lauderdale Beach hotel
Bars are closed and fewer tourists are around, but celebrity chef Fabio Viviani still finds cautious optimism in the salty-sweet air on Fort Lauderdale Beach, where his new restaurant, Riviera by Fabio Viviani, is weeks away from opening.
Riviera, a 200-seat coastal Italian eatery from Viviani – a “Top Chef” contestant and reality show host-turned-restaurateur – will be the ground-floor centerpiece of the new Hotel Maren Fort Lauderdale Beach, a Hilton-owned boutique hotel at 525 S. Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd.
Originally set to open in December, Riviera and business partners are now racing to secure last-minute permits, hire and train servers and chefs to open the restaurant by October, ahead of the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show Oct. 28-Nov. 1. Meanwhile a separate, smaller Riviera kitchen – dishing entrees and poolside bites — will debut a month or so later atop Hotel Maren’s 60-seat, fifth-floor pool deck.
For Viviani, the key to Riviera’s success is capturing Fort Lauderdale’s first major jolt of tourism since the COVID-19 pandemic began. And it doesn’t hurt that the 12-story Hotel Maren overlooks the Bahia Mar Yachting Center, aka the boat show’s primary hive of activity.
“We have a strong feeling that we’ll get a draw from the local crowds until the bread-and-butter tourist season comes back,” Viviani says. “Things always get back to normal. COVID is dangerous, but as entrepreneurs, we can’t stop believing in progress just because we haven’t quite figured out this disease yet.”
Riviera comes from FVH-Colby Hospitality, the newly formed marriage of Viviani’s Fabio Viviani Hospitality – a fast-growing dining empire with 20 restaurants in seven states – and Colby Hospitality Group (Walk-Ons Bistreaux and Bar), owned by twin brothers Craig and Michael Colby.
Tyler Colby, Craig’s son and Riviera’s general manager, says the partners signed a 10-year lease at Hotel Maren. “We have big plans for this place,” says Colby, who lives in Boca Raton and previously managed Walk-Ons in Fort Lauderdale. “Tortuga Music Festival, when that comes back, happens right in front of the hotel.”
Why coastal Italian cuisine? Las Olas Boulevard is practically Little Italy and upscale seafood is ubiquitous on the beach. Still Viviani, who’s finalizing the menu, says area market research into local fish helped him decide. “We have about 15 core ingredients that we import, but mostly we will only use local fishmongers, produce farms and butchers in a 100-mile radius,” he says.
The menu may include short rib with sea urchin, sliced filet mignon with kale and Tuscan seasoning, hummus platters and a few more Mediterranean dishes, Viviani adds. When the restaurant receives its certificate of occupancy, Viviani plans to start experimenting with dishes alongside Riviera’s executive chef, Richard Jimenez.
Eventually, Riviera will offer a happy hour menu, weekend brunch, a catering and buffet menu and pool parties.
Riviera by Fabio Viviani, at 525 S. Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd., will open in October inside the new Hotel Maren Fort Lauderdale Beach. Call 754-241-2020 or go to RivierabyFabioViviani.com.
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