A two-story building on South County Road that spent years pouring wine for Palm Beach's old guard could soon be shaking up something louder. Plans call for George x Avenue 31, a Mediterranean-themed restaurant with a nightclub component, to take over the former Le Bar à Vin space at 380 South County Road.
George x Avenue 31 is planned to occupy both floors of the building, according to Palm Beach Daily News. The venue is planned as a night spot that will also serve food, marking a notable shift for a building long associated with sipping wine quietly rather than a late-night scene.
From Bank Vault to Wine Wall to Nightlife Destination
Before any of this, 380 South County Road was a TD Bank branch, according to Rosemurgy Properties, which notes that former banking properties on the island are frequently repurposed into upscale dining venues. Le Bar à Vin opened there in December 2020 with a 750-bottle wine wall and a white baby grand piano positioned, notably, where the bank's vault used to sit. The same account describes the bar as Palm Beach Island's primary dedicated wine bar for several years before its run ended.
Le Bar à Vin's 2020 opening also left a mark on town regulation. Because the business didn't require prior Town Council site plan approval or neighbor notification at the time, Palm Beach officials began reviewing whether to expand municipal oversight over new bars and restaurants, per the Palm Beach Civic Association. That history underscores why George x Avenue 31's path through site plan review and a special exception permit looks so different from its predecessor's.
A Brand Built in Monte Carlo, Now Expanding Across Florida
Avenue 31 traces its roots to Avenue Princesse Grace in Monte Carlo, Monaco, where founders Stefano Frittella and Alexa Carcelli built the brand into a luxury Italian-Mediterranean dining destination, according to Bal Harbour Shops. The group made its U.S. debut in February 2024 with Avenue 31 Café at the Bal Harbour Shops in Miami-Dade County, an all-day European café format that introduced the brand to Florida diners, as reported by the Miami New Times.
The expansion hasn't stopped at Palm Beach. Frittella also secured unanimous approval from the Naples Design Review Board in October 2025 to build a three-story Avenue 31 restaurant and residential property on Fifth Avenue South in Naples, according to Amy Nease Real Estate. Taken together, the moves show a brand pushing simultaneously into some of South Florida's wealthiest coastal markets.
What sets the Palm Beach location apart, according to promotional plans on the George x Avenue 31 official website, is that it marks the brand's first evolution to include a dedicated evening lounge and nightlife component alongside its dining room. The site describes the lounge as designed to transition the venue into a late-night destination, a departure from the all-day café format the group introduced in Bal Harbour.
What's on the Menu
Leading the kitchen will be Executive Chef Julian Baker, who oversees a Mediterranean-focused menu built around artisanal pastas, seasonal seafood, and Roman-style pinsa pizza, according to Edible South Florida, which notes the brand's emphasis on imported Italian ingredients and classical European recipes. The approach mirrors the culinary identity Avenue 31 has cultivated since its Monaco origins.
The planned Palm Beach opening comes amid a broader wave of luxury hospitality investment on the island this year. Just a month earlier, the Town Council approved restaurateur Stephen Starr's plan to convert the former Neiman Marcus building on Worth Avenue into a 165-seat steakhouse, as Hoodline previously reported. Between that project and George x Avenue 31, 2026 is shaping up as a year in which high-end restaurant groups are racing to claim prime commercial real estate across Palm Beach Island.
