David Grutman of Groot Hospitality Launches DGN Studios Production Company (Exclusive)

Melinda Sheckells
·4 min read

Miami hospitality entrepreneur David Grutman, known for his devoted celebrity clientele and high-profile restaurants and nightclubs, is planting a stake in the film and television industry with his own production company, DGN Studios. Represented by WME, the new DGN Studios has a slate that includes a first-look deal with the Emmy Award-winning Film 45, documentary film and TV shows, and unscripted reality and competition series.

“I was talking to Patrick Whitesell and Mark Shapiro and I told them that I have come across so many great and inspiring people because of my work and I feel those stories should be amplified. They said, ‘Let’s put a team together around you.’ One of the things they did was structure a deal with Peter Berg’s Film 45,” says Grutman, who has been represented by WME since 2022.

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The Groot Hospitality founder, responsible for some of the highest-grossing venues in the country (Papi Steak, Komodo, Swan, LIV Nightclub) will now venture into multimedia production, focusing on original content from the industries he knows so well: hospitality, entertainment, entrepreneurship, music, sports and social media.

All of the projects will intersect with Grutman’s personal and professional sphere — business ventures, entrepreneurism and celebrity with concepts positioned around that which is “unforgettable and extraordinary,” he says.

DGN Studios is led by executive vp Evan Rosenfeld, who has worked on Miami-centric documentaries Cocaine Cowboys and 30 for 30: The U. Grutman and Rosenfeld met by chance 18 years ago when they occupied adjacent office space. “He saw me starting my first company to where I am now and he really understands my DNA,” Grutman says. In the interim years, Rosenfeld honed his craft, moving to Los Angeles working for Hecho Studios and Vice, developing documentaries. “I was approaching David with a project idea just as this deal with WME was happening and that it turned into something much bigger,” Rosenfeld says. “It couldn’t be more exciting to jump into David’s world of business interests, friends, experiences, relationships and to be able to build projects around all of these things.”

One of the first DGN Studios projects is a documentary on South African DJ Black Coffee, with whom Grutman developed a relationship through his LIV Nightclub.

“Our secret sauce is access,” says Grutman, who has traveled to Cape Town four times with the DJ. “Knowing how remote Cape Town is from the rest of the world and to cut through and become a superstar, not only going past that hurdle of being an underground music DJ that has captivated the VIP crowd but to be a voice and face for South Africa is an incredible achievement,” he says. “That’s a story that the world needs to know.”

Also in development: a competition-style show inspired by Grutman’s popular entrepreneurship class, The David Grutman Experience at Florida International University, where he has hosted Drake, Victoria Beckham and DJ Khaled as guest lecturers.

“It’s an immersive experience into the world of entrepreneurship and creativity. It reflects a commitment to not only like entertain, but also like educate and inspire the next generation,” Rosenfeld says. “We’re bringing the energy and insights of this college class to hopefully like a wider audience. This class sells out to 500 people in seconds. But what about everybody else? How does everybody else get to experience this by turning it into a TV show and making this entrepreneurial journey more accessible.”

Additional projects include a docu-series with Hulu (produced by SMAC) following David “Papi” Einhorn, Grutman’s co-owner on Papi Steak, one of the highest-grossing per-square-foot restaurants in the country, which will soon open its second location at Fontainebleau Las Vegas, and a scripted concept with Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison Productions.

The first-look deal with Film 45 has helped them build the back-end and infrastructure for DGN Studios. “We have one of the best production companies out there in documentary and unscripted TV, and we’re able to pull and build from their resources,” Rosenfeld says. “Of course, as we grow and build these projects out, we’ll build our team. Right now the beauty of getting to work with one of the best in the business allows us to skip a step of needing to find people and weed through who actually works and who doesn’t.”

Grutman says he will rely on Rosenfeld to make sure the content is going to be “great TV.”

“We look for depth and a finesse to our narratives, ensuring that each project we have tells a story, but does it with like a level of quality and sophistication that sets us apart in the world of unscripted entertainment,” Rosenfeld says. “David knows what captivates people and together, we hope to like harness that energy and create something really special where it’s not just about like making content but about setting benchmarks for how stories are told and experienced.”

For the past decade, entertainment names have been loyal customers and clients of Grutman’s businesses, and Live Nation Entertainment acquired a majority stake in Groot Hospitality in 2019.

Along with Noah Tepperberg, Grutman recently opened one of the hottest new restaurants in Miami, Casadonna, located in the Edgewater neighborhood.

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