R House Celebrates a Decade of Drag, Love, and Fearlessness in Wynwood (2024)

It's hard to believe there was a time when Wynwood's beloved R Housewas just an empty warehouse. A decade later, the restaurant has built a loyal community for itself with top-tier entertainment and a menu that can only be called a love letter to Miami.

R House Wynwood is owned and operated by trail-blazing husband team, Chef Rocco Carulli and Owen Bale, who met in Miami in 2011 while Bale was on vacation from London. Despite living on separate continents, they started dating. In 2013, Carulli moved to Miami and started working in a restaurant while looking for a space to open his own. The search often felthopeless, with many realtors saying they couldn't work with him, but his "Say yes and figure it out later" mentality kept him from giving up.

When a server friend looking to work with commercial real estate offered his help to find a space, Carulli said yes. "I had no idea how to find a space or what to do, but I knew I wanted Wynwood," he recalls. "This was the second space my friend showed me; when I walked in, it was an art gallery, and I don't know what it was, but I had such a good feeling about it."

At the time, Bale still lived in London, but he paused his work as a lawyer to come to Miami and help Carulli with the opening in 2014. The foundation of R House was a restaurant with an integrated art gallery and they wouldn't introduce its beloved drag brunches until 2015 because of Carulli's birthday. "I used to live in Provincetown, Massachusetts," says Carulli. "I was telling Owen about how they had drag brunches, but it was a little different because the clientele dresses in drag. He is the one who suggested we do a drag brunch at R House for my birthday, which was on a Sunday."

The Show Must Go On

Everything seemed to be on track, and they had already announced the drag brunch to their clientele when the person who was supposed to help with talent admitted he had no clue what he was doing. "It was crazy, but this girl was sittingat the bar and she heard the whole conversation," Carulli recalls. "She turned around and said, 'I can do your drag brunch.' Turns out she was a DJ who used to book all the talent at the Palace and had a Rolodex full of drag queens. I had no other choice but to believe her.'"

The show was an instant success. When guests asked Carulli when the next one was, his "Say yes and figure out later" attitude led him to blurt out that they would do the show once a month. As fate would have it, it would soon become a twice-a-month event, then an every Sunday one, and now, the growing demand for it has turned it into weekends full of often sold-out shows.

Before they realized it, R House became a safe space adored by Miami's LGBTQ community and drag show-lovers alike.

"It was just so organic," says Bale. "Every time we added a show, it would just fill up. When we brought Athena on, it took a whole new life. She was a guest performer in the early days, and when the regular host called out, she stood in. We made her the producer in 2016, and now she is also the mentor to all the other performers. It's incredible how they come to her wanting to be mentored. She says she has 50 kids now; it's hilarious."

Athena Dion, who Carulli said became the "drag mom" of the R House family, was a pivotal part of the large-scale drag shows that now welcome guest performers from all over the country.

The Culinary Component Has Always Shined

Whilea literal spotlight shines bright on the queens during the shows, the kitchen crew puts on a behind-the-scenes show that's equally as fabulous and worthy of some time in the spotlight.

"In the beginning, it was all about culinary," says Carulli. "That's what we had, and for me as the chef, the feeling to have people love the food and come back just for that was great. Now, I know that a lot of people come for the drag show, but for me, it wouldn't be fair to have this great show and not have to have a menu that matches it and makes you feel just as good."

Carulli found his passion in creating new dishes, the restaurant transitioned from a pre-Covid new American cuisine to introducing more Latin-inspired flavors. The chef says because he didn't grow up with all Latin flavors, he put a lot of research into the menu and, above all, prioritized dishes that felt comfortable for him and the guests.

The restaurant has revamped its mixology program and recently introduced a new food menu that includes charcuterie for the table and shareable items such as duck empanadas and Cuban sandwich bites. The most stand-out changes in the menu include meat cuts that include skirt steak and New York strip, as well as new vegetarian options such as a vegan cauliflower bowl and a sweet pea falafel bowl.

Ten Years of Trials, Tribulations, and Triumph

In the front of the house, the former lawyer found his passion for hospitality and running R House, but the couple jokes that Carulli tricked his husband into the role.

"It was a baptism of fire. I suddenly went from being a lawyer to managing 300 dinner covers on a Saturday night with literally no experience," says Bale, now laughing at the early memories. "Once we were in it, I realized how much I enjoyed it. People leave our shows saying theylove this place and it changed their lives. I mean, it's unbelievable to get that kind of feedback. I don't think there are many restaurants where you get those kinds of comments from customers. I certainly never had any comments like that when I was a lawyer."

R House Wynwood has prospered through many struggles in its ten years, includingHurricane Irma, the COVID-19 pandemic, and recent state legislation for drag performances. The owners say when facing a choice to keep going or not, nothing could make them give up on the restaurant. "We just love what we do, and we always knew we had to grit our teeth and get through the challenges that came our way," says Bale. "The restaurant is our dream; it's a labor of love."

Now, their achievements will be celebratedwith a summer series of events.

The kickoff in early May featured special performances by RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Manila Luzon and Trinity the Tuck. "The kickoffwas unbelievable," says Bale. "We just had the most amazing show with so many friends, supporters, people who have been with us from the beginning. It's unique, I always say we blinked and the ten years went by but now we get to celebrate for the entire summer."

The next event in the summer anniversary series will celebrate Pride Month with a Wynwood Pride Closing Party on June 29, promising a night to remember. Details are yet to be announced. "June is pride month, so there'll be many events and activations going on throughout the month, and every weekend is gonna be a good time to visit," adds Bale.

One of the Pride Month activations ahead of the Wynwood Pride closing party includes the R House and Hyde Beach pool takeover on Thursday, June 13 with poolside Drag Queen performances by R House residents Athena Dion, Juicy Love Dion, and Kat Wilderness. The event features co*cktails, champagne, and signature food items.

The team is still working on its July anniversary event, but the idea is food-centric. "We'd love for people to come back to us for the culinary aspect," says Bale. "We really want to bring that back out for the rest of 2024. It's really important to us that people see R House as more than the drag shows; it's an important part of what we built, but we want it to be a place that people visit to experience any day of the week and love the food."

R House Wynwood.2727 NW Second Ave., Miami;305-576-0201; rhousewynwood.com. Dinner is Wednesday through Saturday; Drag Brunch is offered at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. All guests must be 18 or over during live entertainment periods.