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Nestled in the heart of Miami, R House Wynwood puts on a drag brunch that’s so entertaining you’ll applaud, dance and laugh throughout the entire meal. Not only that, you’ll love the food just as much as the entertainment. Owners Owen Bale and Rocco Carulli pride themselves on creating high-quality dishes customers don’t normally associate with drag shows.
Yelp Elite Farah A. raved about this welcome surprise in her review. “The queens were fierce, funny, and kept us on our toes… [R House] somehow managed to balance an amazing show with top-notch food, which is a tough combo to master, but they nail it.”
Although it’s Miami’s premier drag brunch destination now, R House was originally meant to be a fine-dining restaurant that showcased local art when it opened in 2014. In fact, the art gallery was a key revenue stream for the business, as Miami was a hot spot for art collectors at the time.
As R House gained popularity, the owners wanted to think of innovative ways to scale operations while continuing to spotlight local artists. As they started developing a brunch menu, Carulli heard of neighboring businesses doing drag brunches. Because there wasn’t a large drag brunch presence in Miami, the owners decided to take a leap of faith and start one.
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“I was like, ‘Well, we could try it,’ but I had no idea how to do it or what to do,” Carulli says. The owners partnered with local experts who understood drag and what makes it appealing to audiences.
Tapping into their community helped the owners put on a fantastic show. “The feedback was so amazing,” Bale says. “So we responded. We followed the demand.”
Drag shows once a month turned into twice a month. Now there’s programming every Sunday and Saturday morning and even at night.
During this exciting endeavor, the owners worked diligently to ensure all aspects of the customer experience were top-notch. “It’s really important to us to have good quality food, drinks, service, everything,” Carulli says. “If any one of those is bad, you may not come back. We’re constantly training, constantly instilling in our staff how important it is that everything goes perfectly because we’re not going to just rely on the show to make us popular.”
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The first-rate service, coupled with an engaging drag show, surged their popularity. Nonetheless, Bale and Carulli never lost sight of their ultimate mission: encouraging the community to celebrate local talent. Southern Florida’s Athena Dion is the drag brunch’s primary hostess and producer. But to the R House staff, she’s much more than that.
According to Owen, “She’s a mentor; she’s not just [the queens’] boss. She is them. She coaches them in all aspects of the performance, and she’s always looking to enhance the show.”
Yelp Elite reviewer Diandra L. says this dedication to local talent ripples throughout the community, too. “[R House] invests in this local talent — the queens. Athena Dion is a pioneer in the drag queen community, and they’ve created this culture of contribution to the businesses and people around them. When you think of people that contribute to their city, that paved the way for certain things — those are the businesses that locals ride hard for.”
But locals don’t just “ride” for you when business is booming. Farah said they’re there to keep you in business during tough times, too. “Covid taught us a lot when it comes to loyalty, realizing that tourists come and go, but locals are forever. With R House, they nailed that. Reaching out to locals all the time, making sure that locals are their bread and butter. That’s what makes them shine bright.”
That enthusiasm resonates in-house and online as positive reviews pour in weekly. Because they highly value customer feedback, the owners debrief Yelp reviews in their weekly management meetings. Whether positive or critical, Bale says each review is a growth opportunity.
“It’s great having outside eyes looking at your business in ways that you might not have noticed,” he says. “Obviously, no one wants to get a 1-star or 2-star [review] on Yelp. And thankfully, we don’t get too many, but when we do, we don’t get defensive. We digest, draw learnings and implement changes based on them.”
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Bale and Carulli value customer feedback and prioritize open communication and feedback with each other as business partners. Although there are moments of disagreement, there’s a kinship in knowing they’re the only two people in the world who can understand and work through it. Bale says they lean on each other for support, are in the “trenches” together and vent together.
“There’s complete loyalty and trust there… It’s a great feeling to always know that we have each other’s backs, and we’re just in this together,” he says. “And we built this thing from scratch, the two of us. It’s been a massive learning curve, but we couldn’t have done it without each other.”
Since 2014, R House has walked the walk, following these core principles for success:
- Respond to customer reviews. Recognition matters, whether publicly or privately. Responding to reviews shows that you value customer input and are committed to improvement.
- Make the whole customer experience exceptional. Find your niche, but don’t rely on it to drive business alone. Ensure every aspect of the customer journey is consistently outstanding. That’s what builds a customer for life.
- Nurture relationships with loyal locals. These customers will support you during tough times and celebrate your successes, providing a stable foundation for your business.
- Introduce business offerings that drive your mission forward. Align new products or services with your core values to maintain consistency and purpose as your business grows.
Listen to the episode below to hear directly from Owen, Rocco, Farah, and Diandra, and subscribe to Behind the Review for more from new business owners and reviewers every Thursday. Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pandora and Soundcloud.
Editorial contributions by Erin Palmero and Kristi Lindahl
