La Sponda Opens in Miami as Gioia Hospitality's First Italian Concept

Gioia Hospitality Group opened La Sponda, its first Italian concept, on September 19 at Vita at Grove Isle, a waterfront condominium development in Miami's Coconut Grove neighborhood. The 120-seat restaurant is the latest venture from father-daughter operators Thomas and Kassidy Angelo, who also run Daniel's steakhouses in Fort Lauderdale and Miami and D's Sports Bar in Fort Lauderdale.

The opening marks a deliberate move beyond the group's steakhouse core. La Sponda draws on the Angelo family's roots in Puglia, in Italy's south, and on years of travel throughout Italy — often alongside chef Danny Ganem and beverage director Daniel Bishop. Those trips weren't vacations so much as supply-chain work: the team immersed itself in regional culinary traditions and built relationships with producers, winemakers, artisans, and suppliers.

"I grew up in a family deeply rooted in Southern Italy, where some of my favorite memories were made in the kitchen and my travels with my children to Puglia," Thomas Angelo said. "Those memories became the foundation for La Sponda, and our hope is that every guest who walks through our doors feels that same sense of warmth, connection, and hospitality."

What's on the menu?

Ganem's menu spans antipasti and crudo, house-made pastas, seafood, and regional Italian specialties. Standout dishes include:

• Fritto misto (fried seafood)
• Caviar carbonara
• Linguine with Maine lobster
• Wagyu short rib cannelloni
• Whole branzino
• A 42-ounce bistecca Fiorentina

The wine list emphasizes Italian regions — Piedmont, Tuscany, Sicily, and Puglia — while the cocktail program riffs on Italian classics such as spritzes and the Garibaldi, Campari cut with orange juice. The bar build-out, in other words, is as regionally engineered as the kitchen.

Martin Brudnizki Design Studio handled the room itself, using imported Italian stone, custom furnishings, and hand-painted details. The dining room features white tablecloths and a baby grand piano. Custom lamps illustrated with Coconut Grove's peacocks and tropical surroundings tie the imported design language back to the local setting.

What does this change for Miami diners?

It signals a bigger footprint coming. Gioia Hospitality Group has signed a lease for a new waterfront restaurant on Biscayne Bay, with an anticipated opening in late 2027 or early 2028 — roughly a year and a half to two years out.

The as-yet-unnamed restaurant will occupy approximately 11,500 square feet, including 2,500 square feet of outdoor space, and feature an outdoor bar overlooking the bay. Rockwell Group is designing the space, and the company said the menu will carry the Daniel's steak program alongside seafood and elevated dining.

"I live in Midtown [near Biscayne Bay], so this project is especially meaningful to me," Kassidy Angelo said. "This location allows us to introduce a whole new audience to the hospitality, quality, and guest experience we've built at Daniel's, while making it much more accessible for residents of Midtown, Miami Beach, and North Miami. We're excited to become part of this neighborhood and create a waterfront destination the community can enjoy for years to come."

With La Sponda now trading in Coconut Grove and a second waterfront flag leased for Biscayne Bay, Gioia is positioning itself as a multi-concept operator in a Miami market that keeps rewarding destination-scale, design-forward openings.