“It’s funny because I always say my restaurants are places where people will see a star, but also be treated like a star,” David Grutman says.
This philosophy took him a long way! If you haven’t heard already, David Grutman, founder of Miami’s nightclubs LIV and Story, partnered with FIU’s Hospitality Program to teach an 8 week Entrepreneurship course called the Dave Grutman Experience, which he just wrapped up last night. The classroom gave Professor Grutman a standing ovation posting IG stories commenting “What an amazing experience… this class exceeded my expectations…as a future entrepreneur [Dave Grutman] gave me all the keys to success”, which made him emotional. Well deserved.
Starting in an FIU classroom, Grutman had his good friend DJ Khaled make a special appearance on the first day of class to get the kids motivated. Then, they decided to immerse the students in real life experience and learn in the environment itself by holding a couple classes in his restaurants Komodo and Swan, with appearances by Foodgod and tunes played by none other than Afrojack. Every week he brought in different guests including Alec Monopoly, Shep Gordon, David Einhorn aka “Papi” and Rolling Loud’s Matt Zingler all photographed below.
On the 5th week’s course, the class was held at LIV nightclub in Miami Beach, opening up with a panel including business partners Pharell, Jeff Soffer, and President of Fontainebleu Phil Goldfarband, with Cedric Gervais on the decks. Then to their surprise, David Guetta made a special appearance and mixed live while students watched “the Spider” light show, a massive LED ceiling designed by Steve Lieberman, the brain behind light shows at EDC and Ultra (which cost around $3M during their two month renovation).
Many people had their doubts in David’s success opening clubs in Miami to then opening restaurants, but all his venues rank top in the nation and are “places to be” when in Miami; and don’t forget Papi Steak, with partner Papi, named Best New Restaurant of 2019 by New York Post. I remember my first time going to LIV before moving to Miami, and I will never forget it. When I went back home to San Diego, even out in clubs in LA and Las Vegas, nothing compared to LIV in Miami because
- LIV is a fully immersive experience from the stage to the light shows, LED screens, and beautiful dancers.
- There is always a headliner at LIV including all your favorite artists on Revolution 935
- Many nightclubs are in a dark warehouse. LIV is the mansion party you always dreamed of going to.
- You are guaranteed to see beautiful people inside.
- It is open until 4am (things still shut down at 2am in California)
The list goes on and on. In a 2015 Miami New Times interview, David said, “Komodo is a step toward evolving his business into a lifestyle brand that may one day include hotels.” Well he sure seemed to achieve his goals with projects in the works in Wynwood and a Live Nation buyout! I think it’s only fitting that Dave teach an Entrepreneurship class with all his success.
Students want to see his passion in a classroom setting. Unfortunately rulers, desks, and textbooks just don’t cut it in today’s fast-paced world where every single answer to any question is at your fingertips with Google. So what better way than to immerse yourself in the field you’re studying, in this case Business/Entrepreneurship. Big ups to David Grutman for volunteering himself with such a hectic life to not only “wow” our kids of the future by impressing them with celebrity guests, but to teach them how to work hard and provide the tools to get there. This is a way to teach creatively and proactively, which is what we believe in at Revolution 93.5: being different… Evolution.
Our teachers of the now and future are all the people that sit or perform in his venues including the artists, celebrities and influencers themselves because they ALL HAVE A VOICE. They all make an impression and influence our youth. Musicians no longer write lyrics and perform songs. They confess their truths on Instagram stories, share their everyday lives on TikTok, express their opinions on Twitter. Teachers are no longer just in a classroom. We are surrounded by influence everywhere!
