"Fresh every morning with 100% grass-fed A2/A2 milk." That is how the Sun Sentinel, quoting the shop's own website, described the gelato coming to 100 Commercial Blvd. in Lauderdale-By-The-Sea this month. The shop is DaVinci Gelato. It started on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach, and its Lauderdale-By-The-Sea location opens on Sunday, Nov. 15.
A few doors away, at 107A E. Commercial Blvd., Skinny Louie has been serving smash burgers since it opened on Oct. 9. The concept was founded in Wynwood.
Both are Miami counter concepts, and both chose the same block for their spot on this stretch of coast. The 100 block of Commercial Boulevard is the beach end of the town that sits next to the Sea Ranch Lakes gate. Both openings land in the weeks before Lauderdale-By-The-Sea's own season starts. This year, the run-up to the holidays on that block comes from two storefronts. The town's calendar follows later.
A Wynwood Burger Counter at 107A East Commercial
Hospitality entrepreneurs Gonzalo Rubino and Matias Palloni founded Skinny Louie in Wynwood in 2023, according to Modern Luxury. The magazine says the original location drew lines around the block. The menu is short on purpose. The burgers are 100% fresh Black Angus beef, seasoned with salt and pepper and pressed on a hot griddle until the crust caramelizes.
These are the main burgers:
- Skinny Louie Cheeseburger: grilled onions, double American cheese, pickles and Louie sauce
- Classic Burger: American cheese, tomato, lettuce, onions, ketchup and mustard
- Applewood Bacon Burger: crispy applewood smoked bacon, American cheese and Louie sauce
- Very Best Burger: a double smash burger with smoked gouda, truffle mayo and jalapeño relish
The Very Best Burger is the one with awards behind it. In 2025 it won top honors at both the South Beach Wine & Food Festival Burger Bash and the New York City Wine & Food Festival Burger Bash, including the Pat LaFrieda Judges Award in New York. Fries and three milkshakes round out the menu. The shake flavors are cookies & cream, choco brownie and strawberry bliss.
The Lauderdale-By-The-Sea location opened at 6 p.m. on a Friday, Oct. 9, and the first 100 guests in line got a free Skinny Louie Cheeseburger. QSR Magazine reported that this was one of three Skinny Louie openings scheduled for October. Customer reviews of the Commercial Boulevard location were already appearing in late October.
Look at the brand's other locations and Lauderdale-By-The-Sea stands out. Modern Luxury lists 13 or more locations across Florida and New York. The South Florida ones are in Little Havana, Coral Gables, West Palm Beach, Aventura, Dania Beach, South Miami and the Kaseya Center. Most of those are large districts, malls or arenas. This one is a beach town of low-rise storefronts with a pier at the end of its main street. The company sees enough foot traffic between A1A and the sand to support a counter that is built for lines.
Lincoln Road Gelato Opens on the Same Block on Nov. 15
DaVinci Gelato is a family business. Husband and wife Chris and Anna Minadakis built it on Lincoln Road, where foot traffic is the whole business model. Their second location is at 100 Commercial Blvd. It opens Sunday, Nov. 15, with a grand opening and ribbon-cutting.
The gelato is the main draw, but the Sun Sentinel describes a broader dessert menu:
- dairy-free fruit sorbets
- no-added-sugar gelato
- bubble waffle cones
- crepes and pancakes
- gelato donuts and shakes
- custom gelato cakes
The no-added-sugar and dairy-free options help with a mixed group, such as visiting family on a December evening. One order can cover a child who wants a waffle cone and a grandparent who skips sugar.
Opening day follows the same plan Skinny Louie used five weeks earlier. The shop will give away 100 free scoops, first come, first served, while supplies last. The opening page on DaVinci's website has the latest details.
The Two Openings Side by Side
| Skinny Louie | DaVinci Gelato | |
|---|---|---|
| Address | 107A E. Commercial Blvd. | 100 Commercial Blvd. |
| Started in | Wynwood, 2023 | Lincoln Road, Miami Beach |
| Founders | Gonzalo Rubino and Matias Palloni | Chris and Anna Minadakis |
| Opening day | Friday, Oct. 9, 6 p.m. | Sunday, Nov. 15 |
| Opening-day offer | Free cheeseburger for the first 100 guests | 100 free scoops, first come, first served |
| Order this | Very Best Burger, a 2025 Burger Bash winner in South Beach and New York | Gelato made daily with grass-fed A2/A2 milk |
Burgers and gelato in the same 100 block make a natural pair. With the burger counter open since a Friday evening in October and the gelato shop opening on a Sunday in November, the beach end of the boulevard now has an easy dinner-then-dessert walk that took a drive south to Miami before this fall.
The Town's Calendar Starts in December
Lauderdale-By-The-Sea's own season begins after both openings. According to the town's Discover LBTS events page, Christmas By-The-Sea is on Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2026, from 5 to 8 p.m.
The 2026 vendor application sets out what the night will look like. The vendor village is limited to artisans, and food and beverage vendors are excluded. Vendors set up between 1:30 and 4:30 p.m. With no food stalls in the village, dinner and dessert that evening come from the restaurants already open in town. For the first time this year, that list includes a burger counter at 107A and a gelato counter at 100.
Four days later, on Sunday, Dec. 6, the town's Farmers' Market returns. It runs Sundays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at El Prado Park, 4500 El Mar Drive, through May 2, 2027. That gives five months of Sunday mornings at El Prado Park, and DaVinci Gelato will be open on Commercial Boulevard for all of them.
From Now to the First Market Sunday
These are the dates for the next few weeks, in order:
- Now: Skinny Louie has been open at 107A E. Commercial Blvd. since Oct. 9.
- Sunday, Nov. 15: DaVinci Gelato opens at 100 Commercial Blvd., with 100 free scoops at its ribbon-cutting.
- Wednesday, Dec. 2, 5 to 8 p.m.: Christmas By-The-Sea, with an artisan-only vendor village.
- Sunday, Dec. 6, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.: The Farmers' Market returns to El Prado Park, 4500 El Mar Drive, for a season that runs through May 2, 2027.
On Nov. 15, the free scoops go to the first 100 people. Skinny Louie's opening used the same first-come approach in October. For Sea Ranch Lakes neighbors, the short trip to Commercial Boulevard makes an early arrival easy.
The Dec. 2 evening also suggests a plan. The vendor village sells crafts but not food, so a burger on the 100 block before the event and gelato across the block afterward cover a holiday evening without leaving the boulevard. Once the market season starts, a Sunday morning can start at El Prado Park and end with gelato at 100 Commercial Blvd.
Two Miami concepts opening on one block in the same fall also says something about how businesses see the strip next to Sea Ranch Lakes. Both came from places with heavy foot traffic, and both chose the beach end of Commercial Boulevard over a mall or a larger district. That choice also shapes the area that buyers and sellers in Sea Ranch Lakes describe as their neighborhood. If you'd like a local read on how changes along Commercial Boulevard affect value inside the gate, Veroushka MacLean Volkert can talk it through with you. Schedule a free consultation.
