With the combination of the Pandemic and a heart surgeon husband with a great career opportunity, Donatella Arpaia is writing the next chapter of her storied career in South Florida. Arpaia, has taken over operations at two Coral Gables restaurants, Redfish and Forte.

When Arpaia relocated to Miami from New York City with her husband and their young son in 2018, she was pregnant with twins. Two years later, when the pandemic hit, she took advantage of the downtime to explore Miami’s neighborhoods to determine what she could create from a unique culinary perspective. She found that opportunity with Redfish and Forte.