There’s a certain energy building along the New River: the kind that hints at something exciting just around the corner. With Huizenga Park undergoing a full refresh ahead of its 2026 reopening, one piece of the puzzle is already taking shape: Sweetwaters, a new dining spot designed to anchor the riverfront with the kind of everyday vibrancy downtown has been craving.
The Fort Lauderdale Downtown Development Authority views Sweetwaters as a defining piece of the park’s future. Instead of thinking of it as “the restaurant in the park,” they envision it as the starting point for visitors: the spot you drift toward for lunch on a weekday, cocktails before a show or an easy dinner after a walk along the Riverwalk.
Based on the plan, it’s clear the goal isn’t simply another waterfront patio. Sweetwaters will feature an open, modern design with indoor and outdoor seating, river views from nearly every angle and the kind of relaxed atmosphere that invites lingering. It’s designed to seat almost 300 guests, but the intention isn’t scale, it’s comfort. A riverfront patio spills toward the water, while a second terrace faces the park, giving the restaurant a strong connection to both sides of downtown life.
Specialty Restaurants Corporation (the hospitality group behind Miami’s Rusty Pelican) is leading the concept, with their long-standing knack for creating places people want to revisit. Their team talks less about menus and more about creating a feeling: breezy, effortless and unmistakably Fort Lauderdale.
That energy is reflected in the design as well. JVB Architect and ICRAVE are shaping the building to blend into the landscape rather than rising above it, using natural materials, warm tones and clean lines that complement the park’s new look. The idea is simple: Sweetwaters should feel as if it has always belonged here.
RCC Associates, a familiar name in the local restaurant scene, is managing the construction, bringing decades of experience building some of the city’s most recognizable spaces. Their work will help shape a restaurant that feels open, grounded and welcoming to both longtime locals and first-time visitors.
What truly makes Sweetwaters interesting, though, is how it fits into the bigger picture. Huizenga Park sits at the crossroads of Las Olas Boulevard, the Riverwalk and the growing residential core of downtown. For years, the park has been a pass-through—scenic but underused. The reimagined version aims to flip that dynamic by creating reasons to stay. Sweetwaters is one of those reasons.
Once open, the restaurant will bring steady energy into the park: morning coffees on the terrace, weekend brunch crowds drifting in from the river, sunset gatherings that make you forget you’re steps from office towers. It won’t just reflect the city; it will help shape how people experience it.
And that’s really the point. Sweetwaters isn’t being built as a showpiece. It’s designed to become part of the rhythm of downtown. To give the riverfront a place with personality. To remind people why Fort Lauderdale continues to grow, evolve and attract those who want both city life and water views at arm’s reach.
When the doors open in fall 2026, the New River will introduce a new landmark…not one defined by height or scale, but by atmosphere. Sweetwaters will be the kind of place you visit for the view and end up staying because everything just feels right. It’s the kind of place a waterfront city deserves.
