Miami is gearing up for the busy season, with restaurants that survived the tough summer months hoping for a better period ahead. Still, September saw some closures — including a few that locals have loved for decades.

A beloved 50-year-old favorite for Chinese food closes

For more than half a century, Miamians have been savoring the Chinese cuisine at Christine Lee’s. According to Michael Mayo’s post on the Facebook Group, Let’s Eat, South Florida, “A recorded message on the restaurant’s telephone number says that second-generation owner Mary Lee has decided to retire and the restaurant is closed effective immediately.” A call to the restaurant confirms the news. Christine Lee first opened the restaurant in New Jersey. In 1970, she relocated both her family and business to Sunny Isles Beach. The restaurant had several homes over its lifetime, before landing at Gulfstream Racetrack in Hallandale in 2018 under the care of Christine’s daughter, Mary. The restaurant was considered a go-to for Chinese favorites, but a slow summer season that included reduced race days at the track may have been the catalyst for Lee’s retirement announcement.

A Michelin-recommended Cuban restaurant shutters

For nearly a decade, Doce Provisions served Cuban favorites with a modern twist. The eatery’s ropa vieja, lechon asado buns, and vaca frita tostones earned the intimate Little Havana spot a place in the Florida Michelin Guide. Alas, the restaurant has closed abruptly: The website is down, the phone number is disconnected, and the Michelin Guide’s page simply says, “restaurant not found.”

A taco shop and speakeasy on Calle Ocho closes

A Calle Ocho staple for tacos since 1985, Taquerias El Mexicano has closed — as has its upstairs Dia de los Muertos-themed speakeasy, Los Altos, according to @lifestyle_miami. The neon-bathed restaurant downstairs had the vibe of a well-loved taco shop. Beyond a candy shop facade, however, lurked Los Altos — a speakeasy filled with sugar skulls that specialized in mezcal cocktails.

A Hollywood seafood and oyster restaurant hits pause

In Spring 2024, chef Raheem Sealey (Kyu and Drinking Pig BBQ) opened J&C Oyster in Hollywood. The Asian-inspired, seafood-forward menu drew instant raves for its fresh fish, (of course) oysters, and fried chicken. Though fairly new, the restaurant has closed temporarily, noting on its Instagram page that it will “open November 2025” — as if it had never been open before. Both Sealey and J&C Oyster chef, Monika Dominguez, are collaborating at Shiso in Wynwood — presumably while taking a sabbatical from J&C.

A burger with a side of history closes

Dating back to 1938, Royal Castle has been satisfying Miamians’ burger cravings for longer than most people on earth have been alive. The restaurant, which started by selling 15-cent hamburgers, grew to more than 200 locations throughout Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Ohio in the country’s post-war heyday. The burger chain liquidated its stocks and assets in the 1970s after a franchise scheme went badly. Seeing an opportunity, James N. Brimberry, the first black employee at the restaurant and a district manager at the time of liquidation, purchased seven Royal Castle stores. He sold six, but kept Royal Castle Miami, managing it for several years and operating it with his grandson until they sold it in 2023. Currently, Royal Castle is marked “temporarily closed” and its phone is disconnected, but here’s hoping this piece of Miami history has another comeback story in its book.

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A beloved 50-year-old favorite for Chinese food closes

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