Of the many stories about restaurants that launched right before the pandemic, only to be shut down in 2020, here’s one with a happy ending.
Gregory Galy founded the Miami Beach restaurant Mila in early 2020, just six weeks before COVID-19 prohibited indoor dining across the country.
For Galy, who had left the New York-based Fig & Olive chain in 2016 to forge his own path, Mila was a big-swing concept, with 260 seats in 13,000-square feet and a fine-dining “MediterrAsian” menu served in a lively, theatrical setting offering a “sensory journey.”
But, after a splashy debut, the restaurant closed, as did many across the country. Mila remained closed for much of its first year to wait out the virus and prepare for what became a fundamentally changed post-COVID future.
Now, five years later, Mila is the highest-grossing restaurant in America. The concept reported more than $51 million in revenue, taking the top spot on the Restaurant Business Top 100 Independent Restaurants list.
Mila is now the cornerstone of Riviera Dining Group, founded by Galy, and backed by luxury hotel developer Mark Scheinberg’s Mohari Hospitality, which also owns the very high-end Tao Group and Hakkasan Group.
Now the growing Riviera Dining Group is planning to bring Mila and its other concepts to markets outside South Florida.
Galy is originally from Mougin on the French Riviera, a town near Cannes that he said at one point had the most Michelin star restaurants in one city (his father was mayor there for decades).
He began working in restaurants as a teenager, once even working at McDonald’s in France. “I learned a ton at McDonald's,” he said, “the pace, especially.”
Galy came to the U.S. at age 23 and got his start with the fine-dining chain Fig & Olive, climbing the ladder there to the role of president before he decided to strike out on his own. (Fig & Olive, it should be noted, did not survive the pandemic and later filed bankruptcy.)
With his own concept, Galy wanted to target the same high-end diner sought by Fig & Olive, and luxury concepts like Nobu and Zuma. But he wanted to create a restaurant that bridged the gap between fine dining and a nightclub, something vibrant and social that fused Mediterranean Italian cuisine with Asian flavors.
And so Mila was born.
Galy said the restaurant’s open-and-shut beginnings actually offered him an opportunity to fix some of the things he felt didn’t work during those early weeks.
“I wasn’t happy initially with some of the things I did at the time,” he said, including some basics like the floor plan and the sound system.
So he went back to his shareholders and asked for another $400,000 to make some changes. Galy said he also spent a lot of time working on recruiting and developing top talent, which he contends is a key aspect of the level of hospitality for which the group has become known.
Finally at the end of September 2020, when the restaurant could reopen more fully and Galy felt consumers were ready to dine out again, the restaurant made its second debut.
“But the week we reopened, then I got COVID,” said Galy. “I was so excited. But the reopening of the restaurant was without me.”
Galy recovered in time, and so did Mila.
At that point, Galy said he knew he needed to bring in at least $85,000 a week, and the restaurant reached that goal the first two weeks back.
“And then, you know, it just took off,” he said. “It took off from $85,000 to more than a half a million dollars a week within 13 weeks.”
Mila quickly became a playground of the South Florida glitterati, who came for the scene fueled by fire dancers and DJs, but mainly for the food and cocktails. Leading the culinary team is Michaël Michaelidis, a chef who trained under Joel Robuchon and Alain Ducasse, who is also originally from Mougin, Galy said.
A signature dish at Mila, for example, is the plate of delicate gyoza dumplings stuffed with wagyu spiked with shawarma spices from Turkey and a shichimi ponzu, blending Asian and Mediterranean flavors and presentation.
Other dishes might include a whole Dover sole with yuzu kosho butter, Mila spice, miso pumpkin vinegar and espelette; or Maine lobster tempura with smoked jalapeno aioli, truffle tosazu and lettuce wraps. The average check is about $188.
Mila's Hamachi Crudo. | Photo courtesy of Riviera Dining Group.
By late 2021, Mila caught the eye of investor Mark Scheinberg, whose Mohari Hospitality took a minority stake in Riviera Dining Group to help fund expansion.
Galy said he soon realized Mila could expand to offer different experiences within the same restaurant. So he negotiated with the landlord to take more space in the building and added three additional “sub concepts.”
There’s an intimate 15-table lounge for cocktails, and an even more intimate 10-seat omakase experience, for example. And Galy also added Mila MM, a private membership club.
(Galy declined to say how many members have signed on, but membership fees are not included in the Top 100 revenues.)
The club members help build volume in the main dining room, because they request tables there (and get priority), making reservations that much more elusive (and, it could be argued, desirable).
That multi-venue format has worked well, and now Galy has recreated the model with other concepts within the group.
In 2022, the group launched Ava MediterrAegean in Winter Park, Florida, a more Greek-inspired concept with a big focus on fresh seafood. Ava also made the Top 100 list at No. 90, boasting nearly $12 million in revenue in 2024 with 158 seats.
Like Mila, Ava has a private club (Ava MM) and a members-only space offering a Japanese omakase menu. At the end of 2025, a second Ava location opened in Coconut Grove with 250 seats (and a private club).
The group also includes the waterfront Casa Neos, featuring a menu that reflects a typical French Mediterranean vacation, with touches of Mikonos and Ibiza. It’s the group’s largest restaurant, with about 400 seats across 35,000-square feet, and it’s still evolving. A private “Beach Club” is coming, and separate lounge and event space.
In late 2025, the group opened Claudie, a French brasserie reflecting the South of France’s inclination to use olive oil and fresh produce (as opposed to a Parisian-style brasserie that features more on butter and heavy sauces).
Coming later in 2026 is a new Japanese steakhouse that will be part of the E11Even Club development in downtown Miami, a multi-tower project that will include hotels, residences and restaurants served by a rooftop helipad.
The whole dorade on the menu at Mila. | Photo courtesy of Riviera Dining Group.
Now Galy feels the group has a solid foundation for growth outside Florida, certainly with the Mila and Ava concepts, and perhaps more, he said.
The group is looking at markets like New York, Las Vegas and even Dubai—Galy even feels the group’s home base could move to the Middle East at some point because of the growth potential globally.
Fundamentally, Galy is looking for big spaces in big markets where the restaurants can do the required volume, which is key, but still maintain the luxury experience that is the brand promise.
“Growing is one thing, right, but you have to have the means and processes to be able to grow. And hospitality is the number one, key aspect of what we do,” he said.