Shareef Malnik

Shareef Malnik was born to Alvin and his first wife, Debbie in 1958. By 1982 he had earned his law degree from the University of Miami and was living the glamorous high-life in Miami Beach.

In the early 90s, Shareef indulged his passion for off-shore racing by competing first in the American Power Boat Association's offshore circuit and then the Offshore Professional Tour, winning the 2nd Annual Offshore Grand Prix of Miami. In 1991 he narrowly escaped death when his catamaran - The Forge - was heaved into the air at well over 100 knots, rolling over three times before finally coming to rest. Shareef's helmet was ripped from his head during the accident, leaving him with a serious concussion and a two day trip to the hospital.

Shareef soon garnered a notorious reputation for his adventurous, thrill-seeking lifestyle which included running with the bulls in Pampalona, shark-diving in Walker's Cay and racing a Porsche 911 in the American Le Mans Series Championship.

As if off-shore powerboat racing, auto racing and the glamorous lifestyle of a restaurant/nightclub owner wasn't enough, Shareef has also, on occasion, accepted acting roles. In 1995 he appeared in Just Cause, starring Sean Connery and Kate Capshaw, and in 2001 he was cast in The Blackout, which starred Matthew Modine, Claudia Schiffer and Dennis Hopper. Shareef also won kudos for his portrayal of a hallucinating cokehead in the psychological drama Café y Tabaco (Coffee and Tobacco) produced and directed by Miami's Michael Justiz.

With his daring style and leading-man good looks, Shareef Malnik also demonstrates a distinct adeptness for acquiring high-profile wives. During a four year period while his father was acting as chief financial advisor to Saudi Royal family member Prince Turki Bin-Aziz, son of the king of Saudi Arabia, Shareef married Sheika Hoda Al-Fassi, the daughter of Prince Turki's brother-in-law, the notoriously flamboyant Sheik Mohammed Al-Fassi. 

(Sheik Al-Fassi almost single-handedly supported the South Florida economy during his year-long stay here in the early 80s by purchasing several homes from Miami Beach's Star Island to Golden Beach and The Landings in Fort Lauderdale, plus numerous cars and boats. At one point, the Sheik ran-up a $1.4 million bill at the Diplomat hotel in Hollywood. Miami, however, withdrew its welcome mat when Sheik Al-Fassi's checks started bouncing. Sheik Mohammed Al-Fassi, who also gained notoriety for hiring artists to paint pubic hair and flesh-colored genitalia on the classic Italian statutes that surrounded his 38-room Beverly Hills mansion, passed away on December 24, 2002 in Cairo, Egypt.)

After Shareef's marriage to the Saudi princess—a period where he and his father spent much of their time residing in the Saudi Royal Family Palace—Shareef returned to Miami and later married his fourth wife, the beautiful fashion designer and former MTV Latin America veejay, Edith Serrano. However, after four years of marriage they were recently divorced.

In the summer of 1991 an early-morning fire did an estimated $7 million in damage to The Forge. When it re-opened in November, Shareef Malnik had assumed ownership of the business replacing his father at the helm and has controlled The Forge's ever since.

In August of 1992, less than a year after Shareef took control of The Forge, Hurricane Andrew tore through South Florida, leaving in its wake a devastated city without water or electricity. For most businesses this was an inconvenience, but for The Forge it spelled disaster—the restaurant's multi-million dollar wine cellar, which had been maintained at an optimum temperature for decades, was ravaged by Miami's August temperatures that soared well into the 90s.

Over the next year, sommelier Gino Santangelo kept meticulous records of which vintages were rejected by diners, and it soon became painfully obvious that many of The Forge's oldest and rarest wines had suffered damage and were failing to live up to the restaurant's world-famous high standards.

In November, 1993, Shareef Malnik hired renowned British wine expert Clive Coates to evaluate the 300,000-bottle cellar for evidence of degradation. Coates uncorked 50 select bottles, some of which dated from the early Nineteenth Century, and determined that many of The Forge's most desirable vintages were hopelessly degraded.

When The Forge's insurance company only offered to pay a mere $450,000 for damage to the cellar, the Malnik's sued their primary insurer Assicurazioni Generali of Italy and Transamerica Insurance Company for $5 million dollars for the loss of 25,000 bottles of classic Bordeaux and Burgundies. $3 million of the total amount was for the loss of some extremely rare vintages.

When Shareef had first assumed control in 1991, The Forge's clientele was predominantly Miami's aging upper-social class. Anticipating the South Beach renaissance of the early 90s, Shareef set a course to dramatically transformed The Forge from a haven for old-money Miami to an exquisitely hip destination for a new breed of social animal pouring into South Beach as it transformed itself into an international hotspot.

Jimmy'z at Cuba Club

In 1996 Shareef opened Cuba Club, an upscale private smoker's club that catered to celebrities. To this day the club's walk-in humidor contains private locked-boxes with names such as Sylvester Stallone, Quentin Tarantino, Matt Dillon, and August Busch IV engraved on them.

Shareef also partnered with Pepe Horta to bring Little Havana's famed Cafe Nostalgia to The Forge, and again transformed his club in 1997 by beginning an association that lasts until this day—he partnered with legendary Queen of the Night, Regine to open Jimmy'z at Cuba Club. 

Regine (who was once given a twelve-foot boa constrictor as a gift by friend and famed film director, Federico Fellini) is one of the most successful and prolific nightclub creators of all time. Her first club, Chez Regine, opened in Paris in 1958, and at one time she owned 19 nightclubs in Paris, Monte Carlo, Rio de Janeiro, Saint-Tropez, New York, Santiago, Cairo, Kuala Lumpur and London. 

Jimmy'z is a three-room complex that operates like an old-time speakeasy, complete with front-door peep-hole for screening guests. The club's infamous "Drop Your Pants and Forget Your Name" punch is legendary for its effects, and the list of celebrities seen at Jimmy'z is endless—Michael Jordan, Madonna, Sir Paul McCartney, Robert DeNiro...on and on.

The result of Shareef Malnik's stewardship over the last fourteen years is that The Forge has been transformed into a dining and entertainment venue that rivals the best in the world. Its renowned cuisine and white-tie service attracts top-tier diners from all over the world. Wine Spectator Magazine has bestowed its "Grand Award" on The Forge every year since the honor was instituted in 1981, and where old-money Miami socialites previously dined, it's now often hard to determine if The Forge is really operating as a restaurant or a nightclub. But, on this particular Wednesday night, it's a question that no one is really concerned with.

It's just before midnight and the late-night party crowd begins to arrive. House manager Joe Day shouts instructions to four of his assistants as they position large sections of elevated flooring right through the center of the main dining salon to create a runway where svelte models will momentarily present designer Ema Savahl's spring collection to the guests. As the girls take the stage one by one, people push forward for a better view.

Toward the front at the entrance to Jimmy'z, a bouncer is besieged by three young beauties as he apologetically explains that the doors to the nightclub won't open for another thirty minutes. With sultry smiles the girls coyly suggest that they're willing to do anything to get into Jimmy'z tonight, but the bouncer holds firm.

And back in the main salon, as Shareef Malnik gazes on, the music plays, the liquor flows, and the party rolls on...

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