Double Knot, the Philadelphia izakaya from Chef Michael Schulson, is planning its first Florida location on Atlantic Avenue in Downtown Delray Beach, according to a post on the operator's Instagram. No opening date or specific street address has been confirmed.
The Philadelphia original is built around a program that spans sushi, robatayaki grilling — the Japanese charcoal-fired method that runs skewered proteins and vegetables over high heat — and an izakaya-style cocktail service. That layered format, which blends a serious sushi bar with the social cadence of a late-night izakaya, is central to Double Knot's identity in its home market and is expected to carry to the Florida location.
Schulson's concept has drawn sustained attention in Philadelphia as one of that market's better-regarded Japanese restaurants. The operator's Instagram describes it as "acclaimed" and frames the Atlantic Avenue entry as an expansion of an established brand rather than a new concept being tested in unfamiliar territory.
The announcement offers limited project specifics beyond the operator's name and the Atlantic Avenue corridor. No street address, build-out timeline, interior designer, local hospitality partner, or general contractor has been named. The language of the post — "making its way to Downtown Delray" — reads as an early-stage announcement, likely prior to a signed lease or permit filing with the City of Delray Beach.
For Atlantic Avenue, a Schulson entry would represent one of the more recognizable out-of-market restaurant brands to choose Delray as its Florida debut — bypassing the larger and more saturated dining markets of Miami and Fort Lauderdale. The corridor has drawn consistent operator interest in recent years, with national and regional concepts drawn to a walkable strip that serves a dense residential base and destination visitors from across Palm Beach County. An izakaya-format entry with an established out-of-state following carries a different profile than the strip's more common steakhouse and coastal-casual openings.
Watch for a specific address — which will confirm whether Double Knot has signed a lease or remains in site selection — and a permit filing as the next indicators of the project's timeline. With no window stated in the announcement, a late-2026 or 2027 opening is plausible, but the operator has committed to neither.
