Casa Tua opened as an Italian restaurant on James Avenue in Miami Beach, but has since grown into a glamorous boutique hotel and private membership club – such was the need for a cozy upstairs lounge at the turn of the millennium.
It is co-owned by husband and wife Micky and Leticia Grendene, who moved to Miami in the late 1980s. Known for hosting guests in their home, the restaurant and private club grew organically from there.
“The private club is really our baby, and our 1,500 members are like family to us,” said Caroline Nunez, global head of membership and brand development at Casa Tua. The owners really wanted to create a space that was unlike anything else, when you see our Trackside Club on the F1 circuit, you see that we like to do things our way. As they wanted a restaurant where they would feel at home, hence the name Casa Tua.”
When Formula 1 has arrived in Miamiit was a logical step for Casa Tua to enter the trackside hospitality space, continuing its association in the world of tennis.
“Our relationship here with the Dolphins organization stems from the Miami Open, where we created a smaller popup that stays active (during the Grand Prix) as a smaller VIP space, and it was our toe, based on success, that they asked us to do. It really doesn’t feel like a traditional F1 guest suite. We care about the soul, that’s the essence of Casa Tua.”
The interior space of the Trackside Club not only provides a cozy atmosphere to the meticulously designed lounge, it is also perfectly positioned with an unparalleled view of the first corner from inside the track, giving a great panorama to the start of the race.
The main attraction of this place is the amazing art wall with black and white photographs Motorsport images – selected from an unparalleled archive of 26 million photographs spanning over 100 years.
“Last year, to bring the soul of racing, we combined the history of the sport with images on our highlight wall,” adds Nunez. “We started with 50 pictures, we have more space, so a bigger wall with about 100 pictures. It really is a showstoper – people gravitate towards it and remind themselves of F1’s glorious past. Micky and Leticia reviewed tens of thousands of photos, focused on black and white, chose them themselves, photo by photo.”
The space can accommodate 400 ticketed guests a day, although with star clients such as F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, Greg Maffei of Liberty Media and Tom Garfinkel of the Miami Dolphins, they usually bring additional guests as well.
