New operator seeks to reopen former Villa Azur space on 23rd Street with two venues
Planning staff backs the change but wants the operator back in February 2027 to check on noise after four violations under the last tenant.
The restaurant and lounge space at 309 23rd St., home to Villa Azur and La Cave D’Azur until last year, would reopen under a new operator as an Asian-Latin restaurant and a bar with entertainment, under a request going to the Miami Beach Planning Board on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Palm Court Restaurant Associates LLC is asking the board to transfer the site’s existing conditional use permit, which allows a restaurant and lounge with indoor entertainment for more than 199 people, from the previous operator, MMBP Group LLC. The building, known as Palm Court, sits at the northwest corner of 23rd Street and Liberty Avenue in the Collins Park area.
According to the company’s letter of intent, Villa Azur and La Cave D’Azur stopped operating there as of April 2025, though the prior operator kept the business license active. The new operator plans to use the names Japana Cabana, described as an Asian-Latin fusion restaurant, and La Victoria, a bar and lounge with entertainment. The letter says no changes to the layout are planned for now, but it also asks the board to let staff approve minor work later, such as kitchen or grease-trap upgrades, and a possible expansion of about 900 square feet next door.
Noise record
The letter states that the company does not believe any conditions of the permit have been violated. The city’s staff report lists four loud-music violations at the address from 2022 and 2023, including a second offense in March 2023 that carried a $1,500 fine, with code officers recording music and bass heard more than 100 feet away and from across the canal near Pine Tree Drive. Staff also counted 18 other noise complaints from December 2021 to February 2024 that ended with no violation found or were sent to police.
Planning staff has no objection to the new operator and recommends approval. Because of the noise history, it also recommends that the operator come back for a progress report at the board’s Feb. 2, 2027, meeting.
The Planning Board meets at 9 a.m. Nov. 3 in the commission chamber at City Hall, 1700 Convention Center Drive, and online. The agenda and filings are on the city’s meeting portal.
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