What started as an once month community gathering has blossomed into a sought-after entertainment destination for travelers near and far. Chef Rocco Carulli said he never envisioned the effect R House’s drag brunch would have.
“People started coming in from all over the country and thanking us for having this safe space and giving them the time of their life,” Carulli recalled. “Some of them were from places like the middle of Iowa and they'd never seen anything like this and that’s when we realized we were touching people’s souls, hearts and spirits and were like wow this is something more than just running a restaurant. It’s an obligation now. We feel vested for it.”
Carulli opened R House in 2013, turning an art gallery in Wynwood into one of Miami’s best restaurants. He revamped the menu after COVID, adding his own take on Latin-inspired dishes, including a mother's approved moqueca (Brazilian fish stew).
A native of New Jersey, Carulli, 57, operated Edwige Restaurant in Provincetown, Mass. for many years before moving to Miami to start R House with his husband, Owen Bale, a lawyer from London, England.
“We built this together,” Carulli said. “It’s our restaurant.”
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