The 9700 Collins Avenue entrance is closed. Has been since late February. You come in from 96th Street now, past the construction hoarding, and step into a building that looks largely familiar — same open-air corridors, same palms overhead, same ratio of Chanel to sunlight. But walk toward the restaurants and something has shifted. The floor plan you had memorized is not the one you are standing in.

In the past eighteen months, almost every anchor restaurant has either moved, been replaced, or is scheduled to be replaced. Le Zoo is gone. Slim's is in its original space. Makoto relocated to the third floor and received a full redesign. China Grill — closed since 2012 — is confirmed for the first-floor spot Le Zoo vacated. Saltie Girl is locked in for the third-floor expansion wing scheduled to open in 2028. This is not a typical cycle of one new opening per season. The dining floor is being reconstructed in real time, and the construction walls outside are for a reason that extends beyond retail square footage.

The Turnover Nobody Announced

The reshuffling reads more like a coordinated reset than organic churn. Laying it out flatly makes the scale of it clearer:

Stephen Starr's restaurant group has been the most active operator across this entire period. Makoto — a Starr concept — vacated the first-floor space in 2022 to move upstairs. Slim's moved into that same first-floor footprint in March 2026. Le Zoo, also a Starr concept, closed its run on the first floor, and Jeffrey Chodorow's China Grill is now confirmed for that slot. A $740 million construction loan is backing the 200,000-square-foot expansion expected to open this summer, and the third-floor addition it creates is where Saltie Girl will eventually anchor.

For a resident with a regular table at any of these restaurants, the practical read is this: the Shops' dining strategy is shifting toward more formal, destination-worthy restaurants and away from the relaxed bistro format Le Zoo represented. The new operators are making longer bets.

Slim's: What the Fuss Is About

Slim's opened on March 17, 2026, in the space that once held the original Makoto. Stephen Starr's concept is a mid-century American steakhouse, but the interior carries the weight of that premise rather than leaning on it as a theme. Designer Gachot fitted the room with checkered marble floors and leather banquettes. Artist Christoph Niemann painted the Art Deco mural that runs along the dining room wall. The room reads as old Hollywood without the costume-party quality that tends to undermine that ambition.

The menu leads with prime cuts and Japanese wagyu, with a raw bar and caviar service alongside. A signature wagyu cheesesteak has driven the most early conversation among regulars; tableside bananas foster closes the meal. The bar is where the room comes alive — martinis move fast, the energy is concentrated there rather than on the front patio. Shoppers, residents, and the occasional toy breed work through lychee cosmos under the Niemann mural while the dining room on the other side of the floor runs quieter.

Early coverage has been specific in its praise: the off-script dishes separate Slim's from the standard prime rib circuit more than the steaks themselves do. The Infatuation added it to their Miami Hit List within weeks of opening, a placement they reserve for restaurants they'd recommend without caveats. For a place that opened inside a shopping center two months ago, that landing is not routine.

The Restaurants That Didn't Move

Three anchors survived the reshuffling without relocating, and they are worth naming because residents sometimes assume a construction project this size disrupted more than it did.

Carpaccio has been at the Shops for more than 28 years and remains open for lunch and dinner seven days a week. The beef, tuna, and salmon carpaccio and the crispy pizza Margherita are what the regulars return for. The terrace continues to be the most reliable people-watching position in the zip code.

Hillstone holds the other outdoor position, with a palm grove terrace and hours that run Sunday through Thursday until 9:30 p.m. and Friday through Saturday until 10 p.m. It functions as the dependable weeknight dinner that doesn't require advance planning.

Avenue 31 Café originated in Monte Carlo and runs all day from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., with outdoor terrace seating, a full coffee bar, and a breakfast window Thursday through Tuesday. It handles the before-and-after-shopping hour in a way the Shops needed covered.

Makoto is worth revisiting even for residents who had a standing reservation in its original space. The third-floor redesign by Paris-based designer India Mahdavi expanded outdoor seating, added seats at the sushi counter, and brought a more saturated color palette into the dining room. Chef Makoto Okuwa's Edomae-style sushi program and robata grill menu remained intact through the move — the format around them got sharper.

What's Coming and When

China Grill is the return that residents with long memories have the most opinions about. Jeffrey Chodorow's Asian-fusion landmark ran at 404 Washington Avenue in South Beach from 1995 until 2012, and its closure left a gap that multiple subsequent openings tried and failed to fill. The Bal Harbour location — confirmed for the first-floor space Le Zoo occupied — is estimated to open sometime in 2027. The concept will operate in the same family-style, large-format, Asian-fusion framework Chodorow built his reputation on.

Saltie Girl is further out: 2028. The Boston-born seafood restaurant, founded by Kathy Sidell in 2016, has built a following around its lobster rolls, tinned fish program, raw bar, and a bar scene that matters as much as the food. The Bal Harbour outpost will anchor the new third-floor expansion wing. It marks the restaurant's first Florida location and its third overall.

The expansion itself is expected to open in summer 2026, adding roughly 200,000 square feet and more than 30 new stores, along with expanded and relocated versions of existing boutiques including Prada, Balenciaga, Saint Laurent, and Brioni. The dining additions run on a longer timeline than the retail, which is why Slim's and the existing anchors are carrying the full weight of the floor right now.

A Note on Getting There

The 9700 Collins Avenue vehicle entrance has been closed since February 27, 2026 due to construction activity, and the valet adjacent to Carpaccio is temporarily unavailable. Rideshare drop-off and parking garage entry are operating from the 96th Street side. The Bal Harbour Village website carries access updates as construction phases shift.

The Shops have always generated exceptional numbers — annual sales estimated at $2,000 to $3,000 per square foot, and close to $70 million in restaurant revenue alone. The expansion is a bet that those numbers hold as the dining floor continues to reset around it. For residents who have been avoiding the area while construction is active, the practical answer right now is that Slim's is already worth the detour. The full picture arrives this summer.

Mariana Boccia advises buyers, sellers, and investors across Bal Harbour and greater South Florida. If you'd like a current read on the neighborhood — real estate market or otherwise — reach out directly to start the conversation.