clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

David Grutman and TAO Group Team Up For Their First-Ever Restaurant Together

Their new restaurant Casadonna will debut this summer

patio with pastel decor.
Renderings of the forthcoming Casadonna.
Casadonna

The Edgewater neighborhood will soon be home to Casadonna, a new Coastal Italian restaurant developed in partnership between David Grutman’s Groot Hospitality and Tao Group Hospitality, marking the first joint restaurant between the popular hospitality groups.

Casadonna — a fusion of Italian words translating to “house of the woman”— is set to debut this summer and will be located in the historic Women’s Club building, which is also home to Klaw, and will serve Riviera Italian cuisine with traditional dishes from Naples, Taormina, Bari, Positano, and Gaeta served in a contemporary way.

“This is an entirely clean sheet concept for Groot Hospitality from every angle,” said Grutman. “With Tao Group, this is a true hospitality meets hospitality partnership. We see Casadonna as a new classic on Miami’s Biscayne Bay, delivering best-in-class coastal Italian cuisine from an important landmark within the city. It’s full of heritage and history, yet, with what we’ve done, it feels totally new at the same time.”

Rendering of the forthcoming Casadonna.

By longtime Groot collaborator Ken Fulk, the design will feature paned and vaulted glass windows, original gates, elaborate chandeliers, bold floor patterning, and a covered high-ceilinged atrium offering a nod to the site’s legacy. The restaurant will have a seating capacity of up to 366 guests in indoor and outdoor dining and bar areas.

In December 2022, Tepperberg told Eater NY that its restaurant group has gained such a following: "we have customers who plan their social calendars entirely within our collection restaurants.” Tao Group has an impressive global presence with 70 properties worldwide, including 30 locations in New York City alone. Tao in Midtown, its namesake pan-Asian restaurant, first opened its doors in 2000, and since then, Tao Group has continued to expand its reach in NYC, with the popular Lavo in Midtown and Beauty and Essex on the Lower East Side.

Grutman’s Groot Hospitality owns and operates several successful venues in the city, including LIV Nightclub, Komodo, Swan, Papi Steak, Key Club, and Gekko, a joint venture with superstar Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny.