Just a few weeks after New Times included Rodney Scott’s Whole Hog BBQ in its list of the most anticipated Miami restaurant openings of 2026, the project to bring the nationally acclaimed barbecue restaurant to Little River has come to an abrupt and unexpected halt — and, at least for now, appears unlikely to move forward.
According to a New Times source familiar with the matter, “investors pulled out” in late 2025, effectively stopping the build-out of what was slated to be one of Miami’s most significant barbecue arrivals in years. The Little River site, which had been marked by signage and early construction signs throughout the summer, has since gone quiet.
The news confirms what many Miami locals and New Times readers had already begun to suspect. In recent weeks, messages and comments started trickling in: “They removed the signs at the construction site! There’s been no progress since summer!” one reader wrote, echoing a growing chorus of neighborhood observers who noticed the slowdown long before any official word surfaced.
From Excitement to Disappointment in Little River
On January 22, 2025, AJ Capital Partners, a progressive real estate and hospitality company, was “excited to announce the upcoming opening of Rodney Scott’s Whole Hog BBQ,” a Pihakis Restaurant Group establishment, in Miami’s Little River neighborhood. Helmed by James Beard Award-winning pitmaster Rodney Scott, the celebrated barbecue restaurant was intended to occupy 3,740 square feet at 7100 N. Miami Ave., “further enriching Little River’s dynamic culinary landscape,” according to a press release issued on that date…