In 2001, Miky and Leticia Grendene opened Casa Tua in South Beach as an extension of their Miami home. Desiring to bring connection and community into a more public space, the destination merged the couple’s interest in travel, food, art, and entertainment with a restaurant on the ground floor and a member’s club on the second. In the years since, more locations have opened in Aspen and Paris, as well as a freestanding restaurant, Casa Tua Cucina, in Miami’s Brickell neighborhood.
Casa Tua New York, courtesy of Casa Tua.
“My wife Leticia and I were always passionate about hosting our friends and entertaining,” said Miky Grendene. “Our house was basically a place where people were coming and going; we were cooking and entertaining all the time. When our kids were born, Leti basically said, ‘Enough of this!’ and suggested we create a place outside of our home to entertain. That’s how Casa Tua was born, as an extension of our home to host our friends.”
Most recently, the Grendenes listed their personal Aspen home for rent to Casa Tua members and their guests, giving the community a true inside look at their life immersed in art and hospitality. Casa Tua also opened a new space last month in New York at The Surrey, A Corinthia Hotel, bringing a restaurant, lounge, and member’s club to East 76th Street. In line with all other locations, the Manhattan edition debuts a suite of artworks, photographs, and design objects, welcoming guests to a contemporary oasis of culture.
Leticia and Miky Grendene, courtesy of Casa Tua.
“The idea that you are in a home away from home, the personal, more subtle approach to hospitality that is very sophisticated yet intrinsically simple is what Casa Tua reflects—in food, in people, in the flowers—and defines beauty in detail,” added Grendene. “Photographs and paintings are all an evolution of a life, an experience, a feeling.”
Timed to Casa Tua’s New York opening, and ahead of Art Week in Miami, the Grendenes shared with Whitewall how they’re spending the rest of 2024 and why art remains at the core of everything they do.
Casa Tua in Miami and New York
Casa Tua Miami, courtesy of Casa Tua.
WHITEWALL: Casa Tua opened in Miami yet has served as a home away from home for members in Miami, Aspen, and Paris. What about these cities is so special Casa Tua wanted to be a part of its cultural fabric?
MIKY GRENDENE: I’ve always opened locations in places my family and I want to be in. My wife and I were living in Miami and always have enjoyed the international community there, given our own diverse backgrounds. My wife is Mexican & Puerto Rican and I am Italian. We moved to Aspen when my children were young as I wanted to raise them in a small town centered in nature and there our second home formed. Now our children have grown and collectively we are opening our third home in one of the most important cities in the world, New York City.
WW: Casa Tua Miami will be electric in December for Art Week in Miami. What can we expect to be happening in the space then?
MG: Casa Tua has functioned as an art gallery for twenty-three years. Every year during Art Basel, we have an exhibition available for sale to our members and clients. We host our exhibition opening party for our members and collectors. Given our proximity to the Convention Center, Casa Tua has become a special destination for the art world.
WW: Please tell us about the interior of the Miami location. What art, design, furniture, and object pieces are in the space—and how do they aid to Casa Tua’s overall message of infusing the space with the warmth of a home?
MG: Casa Tua is inspired by our time and travels over the world. It was designed to feel like a home—comfortable and personal. In fact, before Casa Tua was a restaurant, hotel, and private club, it was a personal residence, and we wanted to keep that identity. One of our favorite elements at Casa Tua Miami is the nature that surrounds it. A majority of the restaurant is actually located in our garden, where orchids, bromeliads, and decades-old trees surround you. I believe nature is powerful and makes people happy. We surround our guests with art because that is another special element that we believe inspires people.
“Casa Tua is inspired by our time and travels over the world. It was designed to feel like a home—comfortable and personal,” — Miky Grendene
Casa Tua Miami During Miami Art Week
Casa Tua Miami, courtesy of Casa Tua.
WW: How are you looking forward to experiencing Art Week? Any art exhibitions, events, etc. that you’re looking forward to?
MG: I spend most of my time during Art Week at work, if I’m being honest. Casa Tua has become a haven for the art world and I just love spending time with my customers there. When I’m not at Casa Tua I am at Art Basel searching for artwork that inspires me. One of my favorite satellite fairs is NADA to discover new artists.
WW: In October, Casa Tua New York opened at The Surrey, A Corinthia Hotel, with a ground-floor public lounge and restaurant, and a second-floor private members club. How did you integrate the architectural heritage of the space with contemporary touches, like art and design objects?
MG: All three spaces—the lounge, restaurant, and private club—have been designed by Michele Bönan and I. I love working with Michele as he has designed all our properties and we work well together. His keen understanding of cross-pollination of elements and textures enables a room to feel innately lived-in. We complement the design with fine art, delicate flowers, and found objects to give the space its soul.
Casa Tua New York on the Upper East Side
Casa Tua New York, courtesy of Casa Tua.
WW: What does this space add to Casa Tua’s portfolio of properties?
MG: Casa Tua New York gives my members and clients another home where they spend a lot of time. New York in many ways is the center of the world—it dictates trends, moves fast, and yet has this uncanny feeling of a neighborhood—which is why I chose the Upper East Side as opposed to downtown. It correlates the idea that in a big city you can find your home: Casa Tua.
“New York in many ways is the center of the world,” —Miky Grendene
WW: Your Aspen home alone is filled with items from your global travels—like woven baskets from Africa, blown glass from Murano, alpaca throws from Peru, and vintage furniture from Marché aux Puces—as well as art from Alexander Calder, Edward Weston, Bert Stern, Terry O’Neill, Vera Lutter, David Yarrow, Gordon Parks, Nan Goldin, Sante D’Orazio, Elliot Erwitt, and Saidou Dicko. What are your other homes like? What do they reflect?
MG: Every home is inspired by our travels and is as eclectic as we are, yet each is incredibly site-specific as well. The interiors are always designed by my wife and I personally to fit within the location it lives in. The artwork, special objects, and furniture are permanent fixtures in each home.
Inside Miky and Leticia Grendene’s Art Collection
Casa Tua Miami, courtesy of Casa Tua.
WW: How did your start in art collecting begin? First piece? Latest acquisition? Do you collect in-depth for one artist, medium, or movement? What are you attracted to?
MG: My passion for art started long before my passion in hospitality, funny enough, and I found a way to make both worlds meet in Casa Tua. While I predominantly collect photography, I have expanded into new mediums personally and through Casa Tua Art. Most recently, I’ve introduced sculpture into our exhibitions and my personal collection.
WW: Have you seen a presentation you’re still thinking about?
MG: I recently saw a sculpture made of fern wood that was very interesting. This body of work was made in the early 20th century and it attracted me because it was both primal and sophisticated.
WW: That home is also the first of several properties you’ve designed that will be available for Casa Tua members and their guests to rent. Why? How does expanding your approach to hospitality in this way feel?
MG: It feels like a natural progression. I always wanted to make my members and clients feel at home and now I have the privilege to be able to do so.
Casa Tua Venice
Casa Tua Miami, courtesy of Casa Tua.
WW: Other upcoming rentable properties include a property in Venice and a charming home in St. Paul de Vence. Can you tell us more about these spaces?
MG: Our property in Venice is something my wife and I have always dreamed of. It’s where I’m from—the Veneto region. This property is unique and a labor of love. It also has a special tie to my passion for art in that it is depicted in a Monet painting of Venice. St. Paul de Vence is one of my favorite places in the world, and the home to one of my favorite people in the world: my mother.
WW: What are you looking forward to doing or seeing this winter?
MG: I’m looking forward to spending time in Europe with my family and developing new projects for Casa Tua.
