Sean Wright believes in building community through the next generation. That’s why when his family opened the first Miami Grill in Key West, Florida, four decades ago they sponsored kids’ sporting events, art projects, “You name it,” Wright said. “If there were children involved, we got involved, and we got our name out there.”
Wright is preparing for his kids to take over his Key West restaurant eventually. He’s content with his single store, which he says is performing well year after year. “My kids, they’re younger and full of energy. They may choose to expand,” Wright said.
Forty years after Wright’s family opened in Key West, Miami Grill is planning a resurgence—something the company attempted in the past. This time, the restaurant chain is partnering with Walmart to open Miami Grills inside the retail giant. The 40-year-old franchise didn’t provide specifics on the deal, but said it will have locations in Walmart stores in other markets.
“I would say that Miami, even though it’s a city, it’s a brand,” said Jonathan Vogel, chief operating officer of Miami Grill. “Everybody pictures the same thing, which is fun, exciting, sexy energy, and we bring that to our restaurants.”
Before the turn of the century Miami Grill had 175 units open. Now it has just 29, most of which are in Florida. It has seven more restaurants in the works.
The company started as Mr. Submarine when it launched in Canada and later became Miami Subs Grill when it moved to Florida. Nathan’s Famous purchased the brand in 1999 for $14.4 million. In 2007, Nathan’s sold the company for $3.3 million.
The company dropped “subs” from the name altogether in 2014 to reflect its other offerings, such as wings and burgers. By the end of this year, every restaurant will have the Miami Grill renovation, an upgrade from the previous Miami Subs, Vogel said.
Miami Grill opened its first unit inside Walmart in Las Vegas in late February, which also marked its first restaurant in the city. Franchisee Jason Ilagan learned of the chain on a trip to South Florida and wanted to bring the brand back to Vegas with him.
Since opening, the location is apparently “doing great,” Vogel said. Another Walmart location is in the works in California and others are being negotiated.
The franchise has a celebrity investor, Armando Christian Perez, better known by his stage name, Pitbull. He invested in Miami Grill in 2013 in part because of his fond memories with the brand. Perez recalled in the Franchise Times April cover story the visits to a Miami Grill location in North Miami in his youth. The trips to the restaurant happened maybe once a year, he said, as a celebration.
“That’s really where it came from because it was me as a little kid knowing how good I felt to be able to go to Miami Subs. Someone accomplished something. We’re celebrating,” he said as he used the brand’s former name.
Miami Grill’s rocky history
Miami Grill has tried to expand before, but it’s struggled.
Founder Gus Boulis was an eccentric man, according to people who worked with him. Boulis took an interesting approach to opening stores, doing so on Friday evenings when inspectors were off duty, Former Miami Subs President Donald Perlyn said in 2013. Boulis reportedly wanted stores opened as quickly as possible, even before inspections were complete, Perlyn said.
Miami Subs converted restaurants into Miami Grill, but conversions got out of hand as QSR chains needed to sell restaurants after opening too many stores.
While Perlyn ran the franchise, Boulis founded off-shore casino boat company SunCruz, one of which a SWAT team raided. The raid aired on the local news, along with a clip of Boulis screaming and swearing at the sheriff. Boulis was killed in 2001 while trying to regain control of SunCruz, which he previously sold to Adam Kidan and Jack Abramoff. (There’s a Kevin Spacey movie about Ambramoff called “Casino Jack.”)
In 2013, Miami Grill announced its “Oh! Miami Grill,” or OMG!, model, a larger prototype with a full bar and an upscale night club feel, but nothing came of it.
Miami Grill reports its 2021 average unit volume as $2.5 million. With the corporate team’s support, Wright’s Key West location keeps growing, he said.
Wright calls his role a challenge, but not a job. “We enjoy that challenge. It’s a way of life for us,” he said. “It provides a nice living. We work hard, but we enjoy what we do.”
