The Wharf Fort Lauderdale, also plotting a late-October opening, is the sister location of the popular open-air lounge on the Miami River.

“We’re very lucky to have Jose. The food is just as good as he looks,” says Emi Guerra, owner of the Wharf Miami, with a laugh.

Why Fort Lauderdale? Mendín wants to revitalize the old Las Olas Riverfront – one of his nightlife haunts during his 20s – and open as hundreds of urban pioneers shuffle into the city’s many new downtown residential lofts. “I wanted to make a fresh fish house experience that has some modern touches and feels cool and comfortable,” Mendin says on Tuesday. “I think we can add a lot more value to the river and to the Riverwalk, especially when the Wharf comes in.”

After Briny’s abrupt closure in August 2018, Mendín’s Food Comma group struck a partnership with land developer Dev Motwani of Merrimac Ventures (which owns 1.35 acres of the Riverfront), Rodney Barreto of the Barreto Group and the Wharf Miami’s Guerra. Mendin says he discovered the Briny’s old restaurant space in disarray, plus a too-small kitchen in dire need of a facelift.

Rivertail will specialize in local, sustainable seafood, with catch-of-the-day specials (pompano, yellowtail, grouper, lionfish) and a large, island raw bar framed in high-top seating. The raw bar, designed for “casual eaters,” will feature a separate menu of oysters and ceviches, clams and crabs, he says.

Mendin describes the rest of Rivertail as an upscale restaurant-bar, featuring shareable plates such as crab donuts, brioche doughnuts filled with blue crab meat and dipped in spicy honey and sea salt; ceviche tacos; and New England clam chowder-filled dumplings. He will also serve Moqueca Mista, a version of the Brazilian stew he debuted at Sushisamba in Miami Beach 15 years ago, which includes palm oil, tomatoes, onions, okra, jumbo shrimp, squid, coconut milk and rice.

“In all the restaurants I open, there’s always something Puerto Rican on the menu,” says Mendin, a Johnson and Wales University graduate. “I haven’t figured out what that is yet. Maybe a mofongo with yuca and bacalao [a salted, dried codfish] and lemon butter sauce instead of the traditional pork.”

He describes Rivertail’s menu as “about 60 percent complete,” and hasn’t yet hired Rivertail’s executive chef. The former Briny property still has an active food service license, according to state property records.

Next door, the Wharf Fort Lauderdale will feature five fast-casual food vendors, although owner Emi Guerra declined to name its vendors. He says there will be five food trailers serving pizza, hamburgers and other sandwiches, seafood, authentic Asian cuisine and dessert. The food trailers, as with the Wharf Miami, will be parked next to Astroturf grass and communal tables under shaded tents.

Each Wharf Fort Lauderdale vendor will operate on short-team leases ranging from a few months to a year, and Guerra expects the venue to remain in downtown Fort Lauderdale “for a few years at least,” he says.

For more information, go to WharfFTL.com and RivertailFTL.com.