As if LIV weren’t enough, David Grutman also runs another titan of Miami Beach nightlife: the 27,000-square-foot club with 60-plus VIP-tables known as Story. He bought it about five years ago after it failed spectacularly as a concept called Amnesia. Becoming his own competition seemed like a questionable business plan at first, but it proved wise and Miami‘s year-round tourism allows Story to thrive just four miles south of LIV.
There has been no shortage of memorable moments here over the years, and Mo Garcia, Grutman’s longtime business partner, runs through them with the nonchalance of a man who’s seen it all: The Miami Heat celebrating the team’s 2013 NBA Championship in the VIP section; Drake stage-diving from the DJ booth; Justin Bieber singing “Happy Birthday” to Grutman. Garcia says Story’s staying power comes from a mix of talent and treatment. “The people we book and the great energy of the room keeps Story at the top.” Recently, in keeping with LIV’s infamous Sunday-night hip-hop party, Story introduced its own epic Sunday bash: a Latin concept that has pulled in Latin Grammy–winning artists such as Farruko and Don Omar.
