"They should remove 24 seats from inside to put it outside, which is what we've done with most restaurants," Council Member Julie Araskog said at the Town Council's Sept. 9 meeting. The request in front of her came from Trevini Ristorante on Sunset Avenue, which wanted 24 more outdoor seats for dinner.
Her comment explains much of the island's restaurant news this fall. Palm Beach is getting a Monte Carlo import, a West Coast Italian concept and a Stephen Starr steakhouse. Almost every one of these projects fits inside a seat count that was set years ago. The approved number of chairs on the island changes very little, so restaurants change what happens around those chairs.
The arithmetic behind every table
In the Town of Palm Beach, each restaurant seat comes with a parking requirement. Town staff's report on the Trevini request puts it at one space per three seats. The 24 new seats would therefore need eight more spaces, and because the restaurant was adding seats instead of moving existing ones outdoors, it needed a parking variance.
Trevini has 76 indoor seats and 30 outdoor seats, 106 in all. The Council approved that count in 2019, when the restaurant moved from its earlier home in the building now occupied by the White Elephant Palm Beach. The request would bring it to 130. Attorney Maura Ziska told the Council the restaurant has 47 garage spaces and 11 more at a nearby dental office. Mayor Danielle Moore called Trevini "completely town serving." Council Member Bridget Moran said she saw no provision that would let the Council approve "a clear increase in intensity with no solution for the eight (parking) spots." Trevini is on the ground floor of a mixed-use building with three homes upstairs. One resident told the Council the proposed seating would sit "directly outside the window." The Council voted 4-1 to defer and will take the request up again on Oct. 14.
The rest of the season follows from that ratio. A restaurant that wants new seats has two options. It can move into a room that already holds a seat entitlement, or it can do something different with the seats it has.
New names, grandfathered rooms
The biggest island opening still waiting for a date is Élephante, at 207 Royal Poinciana Way. Nick Mathers's Wish You Were Here Group started the coastal Italian concept on a Santa Monica rooftop and later opened in Scottsdale and Dallas. The Palm Beach location will have a market and bakery next door. Palmer PB's Oct. 1 roundup says the opening date has not been announced.
The space used to be Almond, which opened on Feb. 10, 2020 with 100 seats and served its last meal on Mother's Day 2024. The Council records for Élephante describe a much larger entitlement. Minutes from the Feb. 11, 2026 meeting cover the 207 Royal Poinciana Way and 208-10 Sunset Avenue site. They record the applicant explaining that "the 284 seats were grandfathered" and that the required parking was satisfied under the Code because the spaces had historically existed. The applicant relied on the Code's principal-use equivalency provision and prior business tax receipt history.
The Council therefore spent its time on how the restaurant will operate. The Declaration of Use Agreement passed 5-0 with these conditions:
- Valet parking from 6 p.m. to closing. Employees park off-island, and overflow can go to Breakers-owned lots.
- Deliveries before 10 a.m.
- A return to the Council after six months of operation to review compliance.
- Authority for the Council to change valet operations if a verified complaint comes in.
Council Member Cooney spoke as a nearby resident during the hearing. He said that since paid parking began, daytime parking has generally been available, but on Friday and Saturday evenings it is often full until past midnight because of nearby restaurants. Élephante plans to open into those evening hours.
Avenue 31 is following a similar path on South County Road. The Italian-Mediterranean restaurant from Avenue Princesse Grace in Monaco is coming to 380 S. County Road, the former Le Bar space, and its website still says "coming soon." In 2022, Le Bar à Vin was described as a 108-seat wine bar. That April the Council denied its request to enlarge the interior and add a permanent 24-seat outdoor terrace. A Town staff memo dated Sept. 23 lists a draft Declaration of Use Agreement for 380 S. County Road, "Formerly Le Bar e Vin," for Council review on Oct. 14. The public documents do not give Avenue 31's seat count, and no opening date has been published.
Growing inward on Worth Avenue
Established restaurants have taken another route. They are building rooms for fewer guests at a higher level of service.
Bice Ristorante at 313½ Worth Ave. has been open since 1990. On Aug. 12 it received approval to expand into a vacant 339-square-foot space in Via Bice, which brings the restaurant to 4,539 square feet. It did not request any seats beyond its approved 191. Eight existing seats will move into a new private dining room with its own menu and a dedicated server. "It's not for regular dining," said Bice Group CEO Raffaele Ruggeri, who expected the room to be ready to book by early to mid-October, the Palm Beach Daily News reported.
Le Bilboquet at 245A Worth Ave. requested more. Its plan, designed by Palm Beach-based Fairfax, Sammons & Partners, would replace three offices upstairs and grow the second-floor dining area from 455 to 1,258 square feet. The new space would hold a 16-seat lounge and bar, a 16-seat central table and two four-seat round tables, for 40 seats in all. That is 12 more than the restaurant has now. Owner Philippe Delgrange told the Council that the small existing room had been sending private-party customers elsewhere.
Those 12 seats needed the same parking math as Trevini. The Council approved the site plan and special exception 4-1 and the parking variance 3-2. Ziska said the Apollo Parking lot just north of the restaurant has "an abundance of parking." Moran asked what would happen "if and when that lot is sold," and said she might then "want to take some seats away." She also described a pattern of island restaurants increasing their seating beyond what was first requested and approved. The approval depends on a Declaration of Use Agreement limiting the room to private evening parties of no more than 40 guests. That agreement also comes back on Oct. 14.
Three decisions on one afternoon
The Oct. 14 Council meeting will decide a large share of the island's dining season:
- Trevini, 223 Sunset Ave. Whether 24 dinner-only outdoor seats can be added beyond the 106 approved in 2019.
- Le Bilboquet, 245A Worth Ave. Final terms for the 40-seat private room, including how to handle a possible future change in the Apollo lot.
- 380 S. County Road. The draft operating agreement for the former Le Bar space that Avenue 31 is taking over.
What fits without a chair
Some of the most interesting additions this fall avoid the seat question entirely.
At 378 S. County Road, The Church Mouse is adding a to-go coffee counter with no seating. It is expected to serve Pumphouse Coffee, and proceeds support the outreach work of Bethesda-by-the-Sea. A few doors away, Chef Gabrielle's Gab's Organics is converting the island's only gas station, the former Sunoco at South County Road and Australian Avenue. Plans include fuel, coffee, prepared meals and picnic provisions. No opening date has been reported.
Élephante's adjacent market follows the same idea. At the February hearing it was described as more of a grab-and-go with coffee and premade items, and Mayor Moore said she would be happy to have another coffee shop in the area.
Returning places add to the season without adding seats. Acqua Café at 2875 S. Ocean Blvd. closed on May 10 for interior upgrades and was expected to reopen in early November. Co-owner Jose-Luis Duran said the restaurant may settle into a November-to-Mother's-Day season each year, the Palm Beach Post reported.
Where the new seats are going
Brand-new seat capacity is going up in two places. One is far out on the island's calendar. The other is across the bridge.
Stephen Starr's first Palm Beach restaurant, tentatively named Room Service, is planned for the former Neiman Marcus building at 151 Worth Ave. The building has been vacant since 2020, and TZ Capital bought it for a recorded $80.5 million. The restaurant would have 165 seats, 133 indoors and 32 on an existing terrace. On Sept. 9 it received conditional approval, along with a 4-1 vote for a variance covering three additional on-site parking spaces. According to the ownership, it could open as early as December 2027. Starr told the Council he expects it to become residents' "Cheers," a place people visit "three times a week." Ken Fulk is designing the interiors.
Several other well-known names are opening sooner in West Palm Beach. Palmer PB's season roundup places Starr's Pastis at the new Nora Hotel this fall. Nami Nori, a temaki bar from Masa alumni, is coming to the Nora District in 2027. Bellini, from Ignazio and Maggio Cipriani, is set for winter 2027. Niwa, a 20-seat restaurant from the teams behind Ogawa and the Michelin-starred Emelina, is opening in Flamingo Park.
On the island, the arrivals this season are Élephante in Almond's former space, Avenue 31 in Le Bar's former room, eight Bice seats moved into a new private room, and a coffee counter with no seats. The one sizable new dining room is planned for a former department store, and it is two seasons away.
In Palm Beach, a building's approvals determine what can happen inside it, and that is true for houses as much as for restaurants. Grandfathered rights, use agreements and conditions on older properties often decide what a buyer or seller can do with them. If you own a historic property or are considering one, The Quarles Group can review those records with you before you make plans. Schedule a Consultation.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
