"It has gone from what we thought was going to be better to something that's maybe just good," Wellington Village Council member Napoleone said at the council's March 10 meeting. The council was reviewing another round of changes to Lotis Wellington, the long-delayed mixed-use project on the west side of State Road 7, just north of Wellington Regional Medical Center. Seven months later, it is clearer what "maybe just good" means in practice. What has opened at Lotis is mostly sit-down dining, coffee and wellness. Most of what comes next is more of the same. The entertainment once planned for the site has opened on Forest Hill Boulevard instead, partly because of what the project's own contracts allow.
What's serving now at the Lotis end of 441
The first restaurant to make the project feel real was Kura Revolving Sushi Bar at 1349 S. State Road 7. It soft-opened March 25 and held its grand opening April 10. Next door at 1385 S. State Road 7, Foxtail Coffee opens daily from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. and shares space with a Kelly's Homemade Ice Cream counter. That makes it the earliest and latest stop in the complex on most days. Cooper's Hawk is at 1387 S. State Road 7 and is taking dinner reservations. The restaurant recommends booking ahead, and its wine tastings are walk-in only. Degree Wellness opened June 20 at 1383 S. State Road 7 and held a grand-opening celebration on July 11.
The built portion is still small compared with the plan. In June, development partner James Gielda put the finished part of the project at five buildings with 35,000 square feet of retail and 16,500 square feet of offices. A daycare was still under construction. When the first phase is complete, it is planned to include 42,000 square feet of restaurants alone. That figure explains why food dominates the tenant list.
| Place | Address | Status as of early October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Kura Revolving Sushi Bar | 1349 S. State Road 7 | Open since spring 2026 |
| Foxtail Coffee and Kelly's Homemade Ice Cream | 1385 S. State Road 7 | Open daily, 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. |
| Cooper's Hawk | 1387 S. State Road 7 | Open, taking reservations |
| Degree Wellness | 1383 S. State Road 7 | Open since June 20 |
| Cluck Face Nashville Hot Chicken | 1347 State Road 7, Unit 3-105 | Targeting mid-November |
| FORE Elite Golf | The Square at Lotis | Listed as opening Q1 2027 |
| Garden Butcher | 1385 S. State Road 7 | "Coming soon" as of July, no date |
| Lazy Dog | Lotis Wellington I | Tenant signed, no opening date found |
The next arrivals follow the same pattern
The next confirmed arrival is Cluck Face Nashville Hot Chicken. Franchisees Dave and Nancy Chapman told Business Debut in late September that the Wellington location is targeting a mid-November opening. The chicken is never frozen and is marinated and breaded in-house. The hottest spice level is called "Cluck It." The Chapmans plan daily hours of 11 a.m. to 1 a.m., which would make it the latest-running kitchen at Lotis. An earlier report had targeted June, so mid-November is the current date to go by.
FORE Elite Golf lists its Wellington club at The Square at Lotis with a first-quarter 2027 opening and a waitlist. The company calls it a private "tech-luxe hub" with Full Swing Pro 2.0 simulator bays and a VG Virtual Green. Posted hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, with round-the-clock access for members. This is the closest thing to entertainment on the confirmed list, and it is built around memberships.
Two other names need more caution. Garden Butcher is a clean-eating café and prepared-food market that filed permit applications for 1385 S. State Road 7. In late July, What Now Miami reported that the company still listed the shop as "coming soon," with no opening date. Lazy Dog was named among signed Lotis Wellington I tenants in March, along with Cooper's Hawk, Cluck Face and Garden Butcher. The latest public timing found for Lazy Dog was an early-2026 launch, mentioned in July 2025. No newer opening date turned up in local coverage.
Why the entertainment keeps falling out
The original second phase was supposed to include something different. PopStroke, the miniature-golf company co-owned by Tiger Woods, signed a multimillion-dollar lease for part of Lotis Wellington II, then terminated it in 2024. That plan called for an 8,000-square-foot building and 36 holes of indoor and outdoor mini golf on three acres. Colliers executive vice president Nicole Fontaine told The Real Deal that the team approached indoor pickleball courts, movie theaters, candle-making classes and "kid concepts" for the space. None were interested.
Two contracts narrow the options further. Seasons 52, the Darden-operated restaurant, has a pending lease for an 8,500-square-foot location in Lotis Wellington II. Its proposed contract would bar any other food or beverage business larger than 3,000 square feet from opening in that phase, along with gyms. According to Fontaine, the restaurant does not want to compete with another large venue for parking. Lennar bought most of the residential land in that phase and added its own list of prohibited uses. Its contract rules out:
- bars, nightclubs, discos and dance halls
- comedy clubs
- skating rinks and pool halls
- adult-oriented businesses and gun ranges
With those limits in place, the developers asked the council in March to drop the entertainment requirement on the former PopStroke acreage and allow restaurant and retail use. "The reality is, it's a much better plan," said Brian Terry of Insite Studio, the developer's agent. Council members pushed back. "If you drive around Wellington, we have a lot of strip malls that aren't doing so well, so the last thing any of us want is to approve another failing strip mall type-area," council member Amanda Silvestri said. The council voted unanimously to approve the 8,000-square-foot building, a freestanding restaurant and a larger daycare. It put off deciding how the building will be used until the developers return with prospective tenants. The research found no later action on that decision, and no confirmation that the Seasons 52 lease has been finalized.
The plans also include public spaces: a lakeside greenway with a multi-use path and fitness stations, a cypress-preserve boardwalk, and a fenced dog park. None of these could be confirmed as open to the public yet.
Where the entertainment went instead
The kinds of uses that could not land at Lotis have been opening about two miles' worth of Forest Hill Boulevard away. Palm Beach Improv opened at The Mall at Wellington Green over Labor Day weekend, with Nate Jackson's Big Dog Comedy Tour as its first headliner. That is the same category Lennar's contract excludes from Lotis Wellington II. Its sister concept, Copper Blues Rock Pub & Kitchen, shares the space and is projected to open in October. Inside the same mall, Arcade Time moved from the second floor into a 13,000-square-foot first-floor space with an arcade, a pinball alley and billiards, open until 3 a.m. Kids Empire opened a 15,000-square-foot indoor playground for ages 1 to 12.
Indoor pickleball was one of the uses Lotis could not attract, and it is now planned for 10570 W. Forest Hill Blvd. The Diadem Pickleball Complex is planned to include climate-controlled courts, golf and pickleball simulators, and Cat 5, an on-site restaurant and bar serving pizza, salads, beer and wine. It was originally targeting September, and as of September 29 there was still no confirmed opening date.
For anyone planning an evening, the split is now easy to follow. State Road 7 near Lotis has the reservations, coffee and late-night chicken. Forest Hill Boulevard has the comedy, the arcade and, once Diadem opens, the pickleball. A little Italian gelato fits in along Forest Hill too: La Coppetta Matta opened September 6 at 10660 Forest Hill Blvd. with more than 24 flavors made from Italian-sourced ingredients.
The Tuesday worth putting on the calendar
The corridor's most immediate event is a little south of Lotis. Molé Cantina at 2557 S. State Road 7, Suite 150, is under new ownership. Founder Nick Cervera has retired, and Sia Hemmati and Chef Daryn Garcia have taken over. The Town-Crier reports that the two have more than 65 years of combined hospitality experience, and that Hemmati also runs a Miami restaurant with a 40-year history. "Our focus is on preserving the warm, vibrant atmosphere that the Wellington community loves while elevating our culinary offerings and guest experience," Garcia said, adding that he wants the restaurant to be the destination for happy hour, brunch and post-polo events.
"Meet Us at Molé: Same Table, New Familia" runs this Tuesday, October 6, from 6 to 8 p.m. It is free and open to the public, with DJ Babalu of Power 96 and 102 JAMZ, two-for-one margaritas all night and passed bites from the refreshed happy hour menu.
When the next Lotis tenant announcement comes, or the council decides what goes in the former PopStroke building, it will change what this stretch of State Road 7 offers within a short drive of home. If you'd like to talk through what those changes could mean for a home nearby, Sarah Mahoney follows the corridor closely and is glad to walk through it with you. Work With Sarah.
