Colee Hammock's End of Las Olas Is Changing Hands This Fall, One Familiar Storefront at a Time

"That way, when you open, you burst out of the gate."

Mike Weymouth, president and CEO of The Las Olas Co., said that to the Sun Sentinel in June. He was explaining why restaurants on Las Olas like to time their openings around October's Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show. The same article counted 11 new restaurants expected along the boulevard this fall and beyond. It also noted that they were arriving during a period of rising rents and closures at longtime restaurants.

On the 800 to 1200 blocks of East Las Olas, the stretch closest to Colee Hammock, those openings share a pattern. None of the restaurants needs a new building. Each one is moving into a space that already had a sign over the door and a following. The boulevard is getting new tenants, not new square footage. The one proposal that would add real size to the block is a jewelry store, and that is where the neighborhood pushed back.

Every Opening on This Stretch Replaces a Familiar Name

This is the turnover on the east end as of October 3, 2026, based on the latest reports for each address.

The NAIA address carries the most history. Restaurateur Tim Petrillo is building his 240-seat Mediterranean-Asian restaurant at 904, the former home of Mangos, which the Sun Sentinel called a longtime institution. The name is a Greek word meaning flowing water. The menu calls for charred octopus with miso olive oil, sushi, glass-noodle pastas and Japanese A5 Wagyu. Petrillo's firm, The Restaurant Group, already runs 10 Fort Lauderdale restaurants, including YOLO, S3 and Nubé. He told the paper he expects NAIA to be "the crowning jewel" of the group.

Little Hen is the one on this list already serving. Its Fort Lauderdale location at 1201 E. Las Olas lists brunch and afternoon tea from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekends, with reservations through Resy. It comes from hospitality veteran Enrique Altamirano and started in Weston. The menu is English-inspired: avocado salmon toast, churrasco chilaquiles, rose petal pancakes and bourbon-battered French toast.

The operators on this stretch know they are opening near each other. Petrillo also owns Java & Jam, a brunch spot down the street from Little Hen, and told the Sun Sentinel he welcomes the competition. "I'd love a monopoly, but the pie is big enough for people to eat off of," he said.

Down the block, La Felicità is an Italian trattoria taking over the former B Square Burgers & Booze space at 1021. It plans pizza, pasta, cocktails and wine, and its renderings show vines, grass walls, chandeliers and lamplit bookshelves. At 1217, Marc Falsetto took over Dammiano's Café & Bistró this spring. As of June, Dammiano's was still open, and Falsetto planned to turn the space into Pizza Queen in January 2027. Pizza Queen will be a New York-style slice shop named for his wife, Danielle, with spumoni-style ice cream, espresso and Italian sodas. No later report has confirmed that date, so it should be treated as a plan.

The October Dates Have Already Moved Once

Weymouth's Boat Show timing is a target, and two of this fall's openings have already moved their dates.

In June, NAIA expected to open the first week of October. By September 30, Miami New Times reported a target of the weekend of October 18 for dinner service. A September 23 report said that date still depended on final inspections.

Caviar Club at 833 has shifted too. In September, Miami New Times first reported an October 5 members' VIP party. A week later, the same outlet reported an October 15 VIP opening, with public reservations starting October 27. Browardist's October 2 coverage also calls October 27 the opening. Owner Marc Falsetto, whose other restaurants include Tacocraft and Anthony's Runway 84, describes a 4,200-square-foot steak-and-caviar room. Plans include a gilded martini lounge, tableside carving of dry-aged prime Wagyu and Dover sole, and a Founding 100 program for dues-paying members. He told the Sun Sentinel that reservations will be "very hard to get into."

What the Rest of October Looks Like on This Stretch

With the restaurant dates and the Las Olas Association's event calendar together, the month lines up like this:

1. Saturday, Oct. 3: The first Las Olas Autumn Festival runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the First Presbyterian Church parking lot at 1224 E. Las Olas Blvd. The Las Olas Association and Flamingo Flea are presenting it, with a local-maker marketplace, live music, children's activities and food vendors. Admission is free.
2. Thursday, Oct. 15: Caviar Club's reported members-only VIP opening.
3. Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 17 and 18: The 39th annual Las Olas Art Fair on East Las Olas Boulevard. NAIA's targeted opening falls on the same weekend.
4. Tuesday, Oct. 27: Caviar Club's reported start date for public reservations.

The festival site sits across the street from the turnover. The church lot at 1224 faces Little Hen at 1201 and Dammiano's at 1217, so the Las Olas Association's newest event is on the same block as two of this fall's tenant changes.

The One Project That Makes the Block Bigger

Every restaurant above fits inside an existing space. The Weston Jewelers flagship at 1117 E. Las Olas Blvd. does not. It is a new five-story building on the Himmarshee Canal, designed by Arquitectonica, and it could open as soon as December 2027.

According to city records reported by The Centurion, the Fort Lauderdale City Commission voted 5-0 on June 2 to adopt the rezoning and site plan on second reading. That was the final approval. The approved plan includes 20,337 square feet of retail space, 11,816 square feet of office space and a reduced parking requirement.

The opposition came from Colee Hammock. The Sun Sentinel reported that critics in Colee Hammock and nearby neighborhoods objected to the building's height and mass for its parcel. They were also concerned about rezoning and about parking on a boulevard that already has a parking crunch. City code requires 129 parking spaces for the store. The developer instead secured 100 spaces off site and expects some customers to use other nearby lots.

The project also had plenty of support. Nearly 80 people signed up to speak at the May meeting, and more than 60 of them backed it. Owner Ed Dikes told commissioners:

"We are not a large outside corporation coming into Fort Lauderdale. We are a local family business."

Dikes also said the store would bring new visitors to East Las Olas who would support nearby restaurants and shops. Marc Falsetto, who lives along Las Olas and is behind Caviar Club and Pizza Queen, spoke in favor and called the project "the missing piece."

The fall restaurant wave drew no comparable debate in the coverage. The disagreement centered on the five-story building.

The Street Itself Is Changing More Slowly

The storefronts are turning over in a single season. The street and the nearby public spaces are on longer timelines.

The city's Western Las Olas corridor project runs from Andrews Avenue to SE 17th Avenue, which includes this whole stretch. Its conceptual designs were approved February 3, 2026, and the city expects 60% plans by early 2027. East of SE 17th Avenue, the Eastern Corridor held a stakeholder meeting September 3 and took survey responses through September 17. That design is still at the data-gathering stage.

Closer to home, the city replaced about 500 feet of sewer force main in Colee Hammock this summer. The final pavement-marking work was scheduled overnight from July 29 to 31, with temporary closures at Las Olas and SE 12th Avenue. The $245,000 parks-bond project at Colee Hammock Park is still in purchasing. Survey, design, scope and pricing are complete, and construction is waiting on contractor prequalification and award.

So by the end of October, the 900 block may have NAIA where Mangos stood, and Caviar Club may be taking public reservations at 833. A five-story building at 1117 is approved but not yet built, and the redesign of the boulevard is still on paper.

If you own near this stretch and want to understand how a new restaurant, an approved project at 1117 or the corridor redesign could shape your plans, Kenny Silverman is glad to walk through it with you, block by block. Let's Connect.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.