Poolside, Santigold, Future Islands, Peter Bjorn and John, Joe Jonas, Neil Frances, Major Lazer, The Marías, Sister Sledge, Arc De Soleil. What do all of these artists have in common? They make up a small fraction of the unbelievable roster that has graced the stage at ZeyZey over the last year or so.
Created by Grassfed Culture Hospitality—the same group behind Michelin-recognized restaurants Los Félix and Krus Kitchen in Coconut Grove—ZeyZey opened in the summer of 2023 as a pop-up music venue and culinary hub on the edge of Little River. Back then, programming was a Latin-focused mix of Afro-Cuban funk, Brazilian disco, salsa, boogaloo, cumbia and Afrobeat sounds. (The name is derived from Iku, the language spoken by the Arhuacos, an indigenous community of Colombia’s Sierra Nevada.)
Today, ZeyZey already has its sights set on the next level, from pop-up to grown-up. This means more space, bigger artists (calls had been exchanged with Justice’s team as I arrived for this interview) and a wider scope. With the same unpretentious, community-driven DNA, I am assured.
For the uninitiated, entering ZeyZey feels like being let into the eclectic compound of some world-traveling band of musicians, a free-flowing space perpetually spilling over with their fashionable friends and loyal disciples. The open-air stage, shipping container bar, mismatched patio furniture and loft-like indoor disco are all nestled under the welcoming canopy of an old banyan tree.
“This place came with an acquired charm that’s so hard to reproduce,” says ZeyZey’s co-founder and creative director, Pili Restrepo. “Our main goal has been to elevate it and bring this magic to life.”
Against the odds, they’re succeeding. With fellow cofounders Josh Hackler (CEO), Anthony Hall (lead talent buyer and head of production) and Sebastian Vargas (executive chef), Restrepo and the team have cultivated a uniquely Miami cultural hub with an effortless magic that belies the immense effort and passion behind the project.
“Initially, we were just focused on getting people in the door, and curating more locally,” says Hackler. The shows were free, the food was an ever-rotating lineup of fresh talent curated by Vargas, and the vibe was inclusive and experimental. It was an approach that felt somewhat counterintuitive during a time when nearby indie venues like the Center for Subtropical Affairs and Las Rosas had shuttered mere months earlier, and post-pandemic prices were peaking.
“Miami isn't considered a primary market,” says Hall, who’s been tasked with the uphill battle of luring bands down to the “very tip of the peninsula.” In an impressively short time, he’s managed to grow ZeyZey’s bookings to the scale of regularly ticketed shows.
“There was really a golden thread that we started pulling when we started dealing with these agents,” he says. “At first, you think: This is a global market, we have no business here, we don't know what we're doing. But then you realize that's kind of the theme throughout the industry; everyone’s trying to connect.”
Though he admits to learning this all “from scratch,” Hall has looked to Miami music scene figures such as David Sinopoli, who went from booking the innovative program at pint-sized Bardot to helming Club Space and the III Points music festival, as inspiration.
“Agents have started to hear we have this amazing green room with white glove experience for the artists, and great promotional artwork to complement the shows,” he says. “The concept has snowballed into this full-blown concert venue and cultural center for major events.”
The second piece of the puzzle has been connecting the artists to the audience. “Miami's not like New York, where people want to go out and experience new shows, new people, the unknown,” says Restrepo. As the force behind ZeyZey’s unmistakable branding, she’s responsible for everything from the psychedelic show flyers to how the venue looks and the curation of its activations.
Her biggest challenge has been consistently communicating to Miami, through images and words, who an artist is and what makes them special enough to go see. “We always give ourselves a little tap on the back when we make it from booking an amazing artist to seeing a packed venue.”
A turning point was when Poolside, the influential chillwave band from Los Angeles, sold out ZeyZey for the first time in March of 2024. From there, they reached for Santigold, doubling the stakes in terms of what they offered the genre-defying indie legend. Another sold-out show, more production. “Each time we hit those benchmarks, it becomes the new standard and brings new opportunities,” says Hall.
But ZeyZey in its current form can only go so far—and has always had a looming expiration date. The venue maxes out at 1,000 people. And its charmed location is actually smack in the middle of a new sewage main line that will eventually feed the massive mixed-use development going up across the street. As that project begins to rise, ZeyZey will be razed. Its future home, though unconfirmed, is already in the works.
This is a temporary space, but we're going to be around for a long time.
For his part, Hackler—who somehow makes juggling Grassfed’s two Michelin stars, a live music venue, and two small children with Restrepo (his wife) look easy—the mission couldn’t be clearer: “ZeyZey is a huge priority for us as a company.” He spends his days thinking about what the future looks like, strategizing how to bring more “city-shaping shows” to Miami. “The ‘pop-up’ part is and isn't still true,” he says. “This is a temporary space, but we're going to be around for a long time.”
The plan is to stay in the neighborhood but expand to a venue that can accommodate more covers and bigger artists. How big, exactly? “Parcels, Cage the Elephant, Jungle, Gipsy Kings,” Hall muses. “The Anthem in D.C. [a venue that accommodates 6,000 standing], that’s the kind of shows I want to be booking in Miami.”
ZeyZey will remain at 353 NE 61st Street for the next two years, with tweaks along the way. For instance, the rotating food vendors have been replaced by a single concept done very well: Tacos Maria mirrors the ethos of Los Félix with its grassfed proteins, nixtamalized corn tortillas and seed-oil-free cooking. At ZeyZey, though, you can enjoy your meal at a picnic table with a can of chilled natty wine as a DJ spins nearby.
Eventually, ZeyZey 2.0 will encompass more than just a music venue; it will be a space to incubate, where artists can write and play music, Hackler says. It will have the same homey, indoor-outdoor feel, and remain affordable and “GA-focused.” Envisioning it as part of Little Haiti’s whole, the aim is for ZeyZey to positively impact the neighborhood’s rapid development—toward more curation, more trees, a strong sense of community, families and people who walk up. “Hopefully, not in the direction of tall buildings and density,” Restrepo says.
In the meantime, look out for some shows and pop-up experiences at that larger scale, Hackler teases—bookings that will make you say, “Wow, I can’t believe Miami got that show."
