Would you like a multimillion-dollar oceanfront condo with your spicy rigatoni alla vodka?
That’s the pitch from the hospitality company behind Carbone — the high-glam, celeb-fave Italian chain — as it expands its empire into the luxury real estate market.
New York-based Major Food Group — founded by restaurateur Jeff Zalaznick and chefs Mario Carbone and Rich Torrisi — are developing a 58-story glass-and-steel tower that will rise 650 feet in Miami’s trendy Edgewater district.
Dubbed Villa Miami, the high-rise already snagged its first big-name buyer after Miami Heat star Duncan Robinson plunked down arpund $4.5 million for a three-bedroom unit, as The Post reported.
Robinson and other future residents will have apartments that feature chef kitchens designed by Carbone — and they can even have their fridges and bars curated and stocked by MFG.
The tower, being built in partnership with developers Terra and the One Thousand Group, will also come with some high-end amenities when it opens in 2026.
Among those are a rooftop helipad, a private dock, and MFG’s first waterfront restaurant on the ground floor, which will be open to the public.
There will also be a residents-only juice bar and coffee lounge, a private member’s club, on-site event catering and at-home private chef services or cooking lessons.
“We’re taking our general hospitality experience and service style in the food and beverage world and applying it to a larger piece of someone’s life,” Zalaznick told Side Dish.
“I think at the end of the day, true luxury is about convenience, and this building is about everything being convenient. It’s about a work-hard, play-hard lifestyle, where you can helicopter home, land on the top of the building, have an incredible meal at our coastal Italian restaurant, or have a friend pick you up on their boat,” Zalaznick said, adding that staff can pack a hamper of food and wine to bring on the boat, or to feed you at home.
Branded luxury condo developments have become a big part of Miami’s glittering skyline.
There’s the Porsche Design Tower and the upcoming Bentley Residences, due to open in 2027, where elevators whisk up residents and their fancy rides.
For those into haute couture instead of hot cars and haute cuisine, there’s the Casa Armani Residences, where the library and lounge are decked out with furniture from famed fashion designer Georgio Armani.
The branded real estate concept isn’t limited to Miami.
There’s also the Giorgio Armani Residences in New York, and Nobu extends its reach from SoHo with multiple hotels and two residences — one in Toronto and another in Los Cabos, Mexico.
Zalaznick, who launched MFG’s first eatery in the Big Apple in 2011, calls it an “experiential type of living.”
Top broker Dolly Lenz says the concept fits a certain type of one-percenter client base obsessed with food and shelter.
“Going into the development business is a big move and it’s brilliant,” Lenz said. “It’s a natural progression from very high-end luxury food and restaurants that everyone is clamoring to get into.
Added broker Jenny Lenz: “They’ve already captured the audience and now they can monetize it. People who are comfortable eating at Carbone will look at the condos, and they have the money to buy them.”
This will be MFG’s second try when it comes to branded real estate.
They had earlier tried to partner with Michael Stern’s JDS Development Group on a 90-story tower at 888 Brickell Ave., but backed out when funding was not on track, sources said.
The group is not departing from its traditional food-centric roots.
Later this month, MFG will launch the private club Chateau ZZ’s in Miami, an offshoot of its recently opened ZZ’s Club New York at Hudson Yards.
Chauteau ZZ’s will be MFG’s first Mexican concept.
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