Popular West Palm Beach restaurant sues to keep location as development surges post pandemic

The popular Kitchen restaurant is fighting to keep its anchor location in an aging plaza near downtown West Palm Beach after a prolific developer bought the property with plans for residences and new commercial space.

Chef Matthew Byrne and his wife, Aliza Byrne, who opened Kitchen at 319 Belvedere Road in 2013, filed a legal complaint last month against a limited liability corporation affiliated with The Frisbie Group of Palm Beach for allegedly breaking their lease.

Frisbie Group bought the nearly 90-year-old strip mall at the northeast corner of Belvedere Road and South Dixie Highway in 2022 for $6.7 million as demand for upscale housing and shops was boosted by pandemic-spurred newcomers.

The plaza, which also houses the hip Sushi Jo restaurant, Advanced Eyecare Specialists, Vertu Salon, Coldwell Banker, and an Edward Jones Financial Advisor office, is adjacent to the storied El Cid Historic District and across from the historic Hotel Biba, which is undergoing a total renovation.

The Kitchen restaurant faces what a few other businesses have endured: Commercial gentrification

The Byrnes, who live a few blocks south of the restaurant and are long-time tenants in this redeveloping corner of the Dixie Highway corridor, are facing in business what so many others are also enduring — watching rents jolt, first, and then being asked to move out.

It is, in a way, a form of commercial gentrification, and the Kitchen is not alone in finding itself in this position.

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Last summer, the La Cabana Latin Grill lost its space on South Dixie Highway in the south of Southern Boulevard, or SoSo, community when the building's new owner decided to open a Marie Birdie clothing store aimed at girl golfers.

The Blind Monk wine bar and tapas restaurant in downtown West Palm Beach got an eviction notice in 2022 after Palm Beach billionaire Jeff Greene wanted to raise rent on its month-to-month lease at The Whitney condominium. Blind Monk owner Ben Lubin fought the eviction, but decided to open in a new location at the AKA West Palm, a luxury extended-stay hotel at 695. S. Olive Ave.

The Frisbie Group wants to raze the Belvedere Road plaza to build a mixed-use development that would put townhomes or condominiums along South Olive Avenue closest to the neighborhood and build commercial space along Dixie Highway.

“We worked really hard to develop our business there,” said Matthew Byrne, a former personal chef who spent seven years cooking for golf great Tiger Woods. “It’s unfortunate we had to take this legal action, but at the end of the day we have a lease and we’d like for them to honor it.”

The complaint says that the Byrnes had an option to renew their lease for five years, which they did in a December 2022 letter to the plaza’s new owner. Subsequent correspondence discussed setting a new rental rate, according to the complaint. In early January, the couple got a bill for $10,832 for monthly rent, which they paid.

But on Jan. 24, a letter from an attorney representing The Frisbie Group said the lease had expired Dec. 31, 2023 without the two sides agreeing to a new rental price. Kitchen, the letter said, was occupying the space without a lease agreement.

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The property owner “as a courtesy” did say it would allow Kitchen to stay in its current location rent-free through the end of this year — a value it said was worth $118,00 to $236,000 depending on how monthly costs were calculated.

“We are optimistic you can use this lead time and financial benefit to secure a new location,” the letter said.

Jamie Katz, an attorney working with The Frisbie Group on the case, said she couldn’t immediately respond to questions about the complaint, but a statement was given Tuesday that reiterated the Kitchen's lease was no longer active.

“While not required to do so, the Frisbie Group, through its affiliates, has continued to work, and negotiate in good faith, with former tenant Kitchen whose lease expired on December 31, 2023,” the statement said.

“I think they definitely just want us out of there,” Byrne said.

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The West Palm Beach City Commission approved land use changes in the fall to allow the 1.01-acre property to be used for residential and commercial business.

But a site plan application submitted by The Frisbie Group was withdrawn after neighbors in the El Cid Historic District complained about the height and design of the proposed development. No new site plan had been submitted to the city as of March 5, according to city Director of Communications Diane Papadakos.

Josh Martin, who has represented The Frisbie Group at city meetings, has repeatedly said nothing will be built without the approval of nearby residents.

“We want to create a great place for this edge of the El Cid neighborhood,” Martin said during a November city commission meeting. “From a design standpoint, we think we will get there.”

At least one tenant isn’t waiting to look for new space.

Chef Joseph Clark, the namesake and owner of Sushi Jo and Jo Bistro, which is also at 319 Belvedere, is renovating a building at 6200 South Dixie Highway for his restaurant and a new event space. The building is in the popular SoSo district.

Other tenants aren’t sure what the future holds.

The Coldwell Banker office of the Tom Davis Group plans to stay put until there is clearer direction on what’s happening with the property.

Tom Davis Realtor Jeremy Lu, said he understands the popularity of the South Dixie corridor as downtown West Palm Beach and the waterfront teems with new residential buildings and Class A office construction.

“We are seeing so much investment both on the residential and commercial side and that’s been affirmed by the Frisbies buying this plaza and all of the condominiums going up along Flagler Drive,” he said. “People are digging their heels in, and they are very bullish about the area.”

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Last month, The Frisbie Group sold an apartment complex on North Flagler for $28.5 million to an affiliate of Great Gulf Group of Canada, which recently finished La Clara condominium at 1515 S. Flagler Drive. Frisbie Group had purchased the 58-year-old Poinsettia Apartments at 5400 N. Flagler Drive in 2021 for $24 million.

In a February Palm Beach Post article about the sale, Frisbie Group managing director Robert Frisbie Jr. said the company sold the apartments because of other projects “that require our focus.”

For Matthew and Aliza Byrne, who have a second Kitchen restaurant at Alton Town Center in Palm Beach Gardens and are working to open a new location at Avenir, staying at the plaza in West Palm Beach is more than a good business decision. They live in the neighborhood and have sentimental ties to the location that 10 years ago wasn’t booming with design shops, a Joseph’s Classic Market gourmet grocery store and the luxury CasaMara apartments.

“We are still here. We are part of the community and we helped build the community,” said Aliza Byrne. “We are excited for what’s happening  in West Palm Beach and we look forward to continuing here for another five years.”

Kimberly Miller is a veteran journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network of Florida. She covers real estate and how growth affects South Florida's environment. Subscribe to The Dirt for a weekly real estate roundup. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@pbpost.com. Help support our local journalism, subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Tiger Woods' former chef fights to keep West Palm restaurant spot