Worth Avenue's Ocean Block Is Trading Department Stores for Restaurant Seats and Club Memberships

The two biggest storefronts at the ocean end of Worth Avenue were both department stores. Neiman Marcus left 151 Worth Ave. in September 2020. Saks Fifth Avenue's old space at The Esplanade, across the street at 150 Worth Ave., is also being reworked. The plans now before the town treat both buildings the same way. Each building's design starts from how many people can sit down to eat there and how many can join a club. Floor space for merchandise comes second. One of the two projects is under construction. The other has been filed but not yet heard. On either side of the street, the first dining room on the block is unlikely to open before December 2027.

The Arithmetic Across the Street

Read side by side, the two filings describe the block in terms that would have meant nothing to a department store.

If both projects are built as filed, the ocean block would gain 435 restaurant seats and up to 600 club memberships. The old Neiman Marcus building was put up in 1998 as a store of about 49,000 square feet. That floor is now being split into smaller shops around one second-floor dining room. In the Esplanade filing, retail is still part of the plan. The point the architects make most often, though, is "pedestrian character," supported by outdoor café seating, take-out food service and membership clubs.

151 Worth Is Furthest Along, and Its Plan Has Grown Indoors

The former Neiman Marcus has worked through the town's process quickly. Its redevelopment won zoning approval on Feb. 11, 2026, and the Architectural Commission approved the first redesign unanimously on Feb. 25. On Sept. 9, Town Council conditionally approved the Starr restaurant. On Sept. 23, ARCOM approved a third-floor addition and window changes on a 7–0 consent agenda.

The restaurant's footprint changed between versions. The outdoor dining area in the trellised arcade grew from 1,091 to 1,495 square feet, but outdoor seats fell from 48 to 32. The final count is 165 seats: 126 indoors, seven at the bar and 32 on a balcony over Worth Avenue. Most of the growth went to the kitchen. Back-of-house space rose by 2,475 square feet to 3,425 square feet, including a 1,350-square-foot third-floor addition that diners will never see. Town staff said it sits behind the existing building and won't be visible from the street. Under the town's code, the larger service area raised the parking requirement even though customer seating went down, so the council granted a three-space parking variance.

Starr described the room to the council in terms aimed at the island itself:

"This one I happen to be proud to do. I'm very happy and proud to be in Palm Beach. New York was one part of a pinnacle of my career, and Palm Beach feels like another pinnacle we've reached." The Palm Beach Daily News reported.

He said he wants a neighborhood restaurant that Palm Beach residents return to regularly, one that doesn't depend on diners from off the island. The menu he described is loosely a steakhouse, mixed with comfort food: lobster mac and cheese, meatloaf, burgers, and Peking duck as a Sunday specialty. Ken Fulk is expected to design the interiors, which TZ Capital's statement calls "timeless and an homage to the gilded 1920s." Town staff said it will be a standalone concept, not a location of an existing Starr restaurant.

TZ Capital says the restaurant could open as early as December 2027. "Room Service" is still a working name. Starr's first restaurant in the area will come sooner and off the island: his group is expected to open Pastis West Palm at the new Nora Hotel in West Palm Beach this fall.

The Neighbors on Peruvian Avenue Weighed In

Some nearby residents objected to the plan, and the town's September comment packet records it. Two nearby residents opposed the outdoor dining, citing loss of green space, noise and parking. Another nearby resident raised the restaurant's scale, activity level and traffic. The packet contains individual residents' letters, and the Worth Avenue Association did not file a separate position in it. Fewer outdoor seats, a larger arcade area and a kitchen kept out of sight from the street are details that respond to the concerns those letters raised.

150 Worth Is Still on Paper

The Esplanade sold in March 2026 for a deed-recorded $200 million. The buyers were Reuben Brothers, led by billionaire brothers David and Simon Reuben, and Crown Onyx Investments. Reuben Brothers already owns the ground floor of the Tiffany building at 259 Worth Ave. It also owns The Vineta Hotel on Cocoanut Row, which reopened in February after a renovation of nearly three years.

The Aug. 13 filing would rename the center Burlington Arcade at Palm Beach, after the Mayfair arcade the company owns in London, which opened March 20, 1819. Here is how the plans lay out the space:

1. Ground floor, west side: a 7,800-square-foot luxury lifestyle store for apparel, accessories and personal goods.
2. Ground floor: Casa Tua, a 6,500-square-foot restaurant with 270 seats.
3. Ground floor, east side: a Birley Bakery of about 520 square feet. The bakery's other locations are in Chelsea in London and on New York's Upper East Side.
4. Second floor: Casa Tua's 4,855-square-foot private club, with up to 300 members.
5. Second floor: a 12,291-square-foot social club with 300 members, intended for Palm Beach residents and "hotel guests."
6. Second floor: a 5,325-square-foot day spa and a 2,000-square-foot boutique.

The plans also name a private club led by London businessman Robin Birley. Casa Tua already has locations in Miami Beach, Aspen, New York, Capri and Paris. The architect is Fairfax & Sammons. Its principal Richard Sammons is vice chair of the town's Architectural Commission. The firm also designed the facade changes for the former Saks space that town officials approved in December and January.

The project still has several steps ahead. The developers have to respond to town staff comments, then go before both the Architectural Commission and the Town Council. They have also requested special exceptions for the restaurant, outdoor seating, shared parking, a store larger than 4,000 square feet, take-out service and the membership clubs. Town records showed October as the earliest possible review. The town's posted agendas for the Oct. 6 Planning and Zoning meeting, the Oct. 14 Council Development Review and the Oct. 28 ARCOM meeting do not include the project.

For now, The Esplanade still has its current shops. The most recent tenant list includes Hublot, Emilio Pucci, Carolina Herrera, J.McLaughlin and Piaget. A Starbucks in Suite 110 was on the September council agenda for an amendment to its special exception. The owners have said the tenant mix will be updated. No public filing says which current tenants would stay.

The Dates on the Calendar This Fall

For the rest of 2026, most of the changes at the ocean end will happen in Town Hall meetings, with only a few on the street.

• Oct. 14: At its Development Review meeting, the Town Council reviews the draft declaration of use agreement for the Starr restaurant at 151 Worth. The same meeting has a draft declaration of use for Le Bilboquet at 247 (245-A) Worth Ave. The agenda also lists a request to waive the town's working-hour limits for construction at 151 Worth. That item is a request and has not been approved.
• First week of November: Vineyard Vines expects to open its new store at 330 Worth Ave. The store hasn't announced an exact day.
• Already done: Kapsiki closed its store at 235 B Worth Ave. on May 31 after 35 years. Its owner plans to reopen elsewhere on the island.

The work at 151 Worth is moving under approvals the town has already granted. The Esplanade's filing has yet to be heard, and until it is, the Casa Tua dining room, the Birley club and the bakery remain proposals. Neither project has a completion date for the whole building. December 2027 is the earliest tentative date for the first new restaurant on the ocean block.

If you own on the island and want to talk through what 435 new restaurant seats and two proposed private clubs could mean for the streets around Worth Avenue, Your Luxury Listing Group follows each hearing as it comes up. Request a Private Consultation, and we'll share what we learn from Town Hall as these projects move forward.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.