Get excited for discounted dining—Miami Spice is starting two months early

Miami Spice—the annual dining promotion designed to increase business for local restaurants during the slow summer season—is returning two months early this year. 

The annual campaign kicks off on June 1 and runs through September 30, with eateries across the city serving discounted, prix-fixe menus. A three-course lunch will run you $25 (up from the previous $23) while three-course dinner clocks in at $39, just like years prior. Though there is one major change—besides bumping up the start date. For the first time, restaurants won’t have to pay to participate nor will they have to be part of the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau (GMCVB) to be considered. That could mean double the participants from years prior even though now, according to the Miami New Times, only about a quarter of 2019’s 250 restaurants have signed up so far. The full list will be available on the GMCVB website on Monday. 

Shocked to see Spice return so quickly? You shouldn’t be. While July and August were historically the months with fewer tourists, lockdown has increased the lull and preempted the need for a splashy marketing campaign. This unseasonable iteration will run as part of Miami Shines, the GMCVB’s wider initiative to aid reopenings across the hospitality industry. It follows other recovery programs launched during the pandemic—including Miami Eats and Miami Salutes—and will include hotels as well as spas as soon as they’re allowed to reopen.

The return of Miami Spice might signal a return to "normal" but that doesn’t mean the new rules of dining out have changed. Don't forget your mask.

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