Coconut Grove Gets a Flavor Upgrade: Mae’s Group and Ariete Hospitality Group Debut Three New Concepts
- Oct 3, 2025
- 2 min read
Coconut Grove’s restaurant landscape is evolving again with three new hotspots. This fall, Mae’s Group and Ariete Hospitality Group are teaming up to open very different, but equally buzzworthy, spots: Chuggie’s, Mae’s Room and Drinking Pig BBQ. Think: nostalgia, smoke and cocktails all within a few steps of each other.
Burgers With a Side of Nostalgia
Chef Michael Beltran digs into his Miami roots with Chuggie’s, a playful burger joint named after his childhood nickname. With $8 burgers, crispy fritas, juicy chicken sandwiches and swirl cones of soft-serve, it’s designed to feel fun and familiar. Even kids get their own Happiest of Meals, complete with fries, a drink and a prize. Patio seating on Fuller Street makes it the perfect hangout for families, teens and longtime locals.
Barbecue Finds a Home
What started as a pop-up phenomenon is now here to stay. Chef Raheem Sealey’s Drinking Pig BBQ finally lands a permanent 1,600-square-foot home in the Grove. The menu blends soulful American barbecue with Caribbean twists of brisket, ribs and Sealey’s signature cornbread. It’s more than a restaurant; it’s a space where friends and neighbors gather over food cooked with heart and heritage.
Cocktails Out of Your Living Room
Inspired by Mae, a Bronx-born artist and hostess, Mae’s Room is an intimate cocktail lounge with midcentury flair. Hospitality pro Tom Lasher-Walker leads the bar, delivering perfectly made martinis, daiquiris and old-fashioneds. Guests can order bites from Chuggie’s, making it a seamless spot to sip and snack. By day it’s a chic after-work hideout; by night it becomes the Grove’s new cocktail party.
Together, these three openings will create over 40 new jobs and infuse Coconut Grove with fresh energy. It’s a trio that proves the neighborhood can be nostalgic, soulful, and sophisticated all at once, while staying true to its community spirit.