Q & A
TIM PETRILLO, CEO, THE RESTAURANT PEOPLE
The Night Life
Earlier this year, The Restaurant People, a 25-year-old Fort Lauderdale hospitality company, opened its first business outside South Florida with a rooftop lounge called Jagger Suite above the new Moxy Atlanta Downtown. Across 14 businesses, The Restaurant People employs approximately 650, serves more than 1 million annually and expects $100 million in revenue this year. The company is known in South Florida for Yolo, Boatyard and other hotspots. It was cofounded by CEO Tim Petrillo; Executive Chef Peter Boulukos; and Alan Hooper, construction development manager. Petrillo says Atlanta was a compelling next market. "We saw a clear opportunity to introduce The Restaurant People's experience-driven hospitality to a city that values dining and nightlife culture," he says.
FLORIDA TREND: How many people would you guess that TRP serves companywide on a Friday night?
Petrillo: Between 15,000 and 20,000 guests on a typical Friday night across our portfolio, depending on seasonality.
FT: What liquor do you move more of than anything else?
Petrillo: Vodka and tequila are our top categories, with tequila seeing significant growth over the past few years as guest preferences continue to evolve.
FT: What's your go-to at-home drink and meal?
Petrillo: Being raised in an Italian family, my go-to meals are classic comfort dishes like baked ziti, vegetable lasagna, or escarole and white bean soup. At home I keep it simple — San Pellegrino is always in my fridge and is what I drink most often.
TRANSPORTATION
- Twice-bankrupt Dania Beach-based Spirit Airlines, pioneer in the ultra-low-cost airline segment, shut down in May after failing to get a government bailout. Done in by competition from larger carriers, the Biden administration's blocking its 2022 merger with JetBlue and then by high fuel costs since the Trump administration's Iran conflict, Spirit elected to liquidate. It employed 14,000, though other airlines anticipate hiring some of them.
HIGHER EDUCATION
- Palm Beach billionaire Jeff Greene and his wife, Mei Sze, donated nearly an acre downtown to Vanderbilt University for the Nashville university's West Palm Beach expansion.
TECH
- Fort Lauderdale startup Ubicquia raised $106 million for its artificial intelligence development and international expansion. The company's forte is helping cities lower their energy and infrastructure costs.
AGRICULTURE
- In a marker of citrus industry decline, the Indian River Citrus League, an industry group, suspended operations.
RETAIL
- European foods retailer Euroland opened a store in Royal Palm Beach. It already had stores in Deerfield Beach and Hollywood.
RECREATION
- The Village of Wellington opened an aquatics center.
HOSPITALITY
- H&M Development plans a Hyatt Place and Hyatt House in Sunrise.
- The Breakers Palm Beach Resort bought a site in West Palm Beach where it plans 155 apartments for seasonal employees, interns and international exchange workers.
MARKETING
- Developer Stephen Ross and Citadel founder Ken Griffin contributed $10 million toward a Florida Council of 100 "Ambition Accelerated" national marketing campaign to entice CEOs, founders and investors to locate their companies on Florida's Gold Coast. The Council of 100 also launched a GoldCoastFlorida.com site.
REAL ESTATE
- Boca Raton voters, in two ballot initiatives, rejected the proposed One Boca mixed-use redevelopment downtown and also rejected funding a new police headquarters. Coconut Grove-based developer Terra's and Palm Beach-based Frisbie Group's One Boca would have brought 765 apartments, 182 condos, a 180-room hotel, offices, retail and 15 acres of civic and recreation space. Voters also elected a "Save Boca" city council.
- GL Homes plans 500 single-family houses and 300 apartments on the closed Falls golf club west of Lake Worth Beach.
- Toronto-based Great Gulf plans a 31-story, 87-unit Mandarin Oriental Residences condo project on the West Palm Beach waterfront. Unit prices start at $3.5 million.
Transforming 27 Acres
Tenet Healthcare's Palm Beach Health Network, owner of Good Samaritan Medical Center, and Easton Street Capital will redevelop the 27-acre West Palm Beach hospital campus with expanded medical facilities, including a longevity and wellness center, condos and rental apartments, retail and a hotel. When the redevelopment is complete, the existing hospital will be torn down.