Big Mamma runs more than 35 restaurants in nine countries, serves some 15,000 customers a day, and spent more than a decade in Paris, London, Milan and Madrid before it chose its first American address. Forbes reported in May that the address is Juno Beach, with the opening set for late 2026.
The restaurant is going into Caretta, the four-story residential building rising on the northwest corner of U.S. 1 and Donald Ross Road. That is the same building whose criticism pushed the Town of Juno Beach to rethink the future of its main intersection. For people in Jonathan's Landing and across Jupiter who already treat the Four Corners as their beachside dining stop, the most anticipated opening in years and the town's most debated building are one project.
The introduction that put Juno Beach on the map
The route to Juno Beach ran through Carmine Giardini, the founder of Carmine's Gourmet Market and La Trattoria. Forbes reported that co-founder Tigrane Seydoux met Giardini before Big Mamma had even settled on the United States as its next market. Seydoux described "an immediate alignment" between the two.
A second introduction gave the project its structure. Ryan O'Donnell and Jon Farrer of Chicago-based Ballyhoo Hospitality came in as partners, and Big Mamma's U.S. debut is a 50/50 joint venture with Ballyhoo. Forbes called that an unusual arrangement for a group used to operating on its own.
The founder also lives here. Seydoux told Forbes:
"After moving here myself ... I have fallen in love with the community of Palm Beach County."
Forbes linked that move to a founding idea of the group, that hospitality works best when it grows from within a place. A group that, by Forbes's account, kept its London rooms booked a month ahead for all of 2023 did not need a busy metro to fill seats. It picked a beach town where its founder and its local partner already had roots.
What the kitchen is bringing across the Atlantic
The Juno Beach restaurant will not copy Pink Mamma, Gloria Osteria or any other existing location. Forbes reported that each Big Mamma restaurant is designed for its own city and neighborhood, and that Florida will be no different. Big Mamma's own hiring materials describe a new Italian trattoria made specifically for South Florida. Florida Weekly described a classically Italian menu shaped by both the South Florida coast and the Tuscan coastline.
What stays constant across the group, according to Forbes:
- Pizza dough proofed for 48 hours
- Focaccia baked in-house every morning
- Handmade pasta, regionally inspired, which Seydoux called the dish most likely to win over newcomers
- Gelato made in-house
- More than 200 named artisanal Italian producers, all DOP-certified, including 24-month-aged Prosciutto di Parma from Paolo and Gianfranco Leoncini and mozzarella from Salvatore Corso in Naples
The sourcing is where the Giardini connection matters most. He has been importing Italian products into Palm Beach County for nearly 40 years, and Forbes reported that his network gives the group a ready path from Italian producers to the Juno Beach kitchen. Seydoux also said the group will build new local sourcing for South Florida seafood, meats, dairy and produce, in line with its B Corp certification.
A famous tenant in a debated building
Caretta's developer still describes the project as under construction and advertises 95 residences. The town's fiscal 2024 financial report lists the project's planned mix:
| Planned use at Caretta | Size |
|---|---|
| Residential units | 95 |
| Retail | 13,978 sq ft |
| Restaurant | 7,112 sq ft |
| Office | 2,000 sq ft |
Those numbers explain the debate. Stet News reported in January that town rules allow commercial property to be redeveloped as up to 75% residential, as long as 25% stays commercial. The town, "still stung by criticism of Caretta," worried that the code gives owners of older shopping centers a reason to convert them to housing. The restaurant space that will hold Big Mamma is part of the commercial share of a building that is mostly residences.
Dana Little of the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council, the town's master plan consultant, put it plainly at an August 6 workshop, as quoted by Stet News: "You're going through a transition now where you've been discovered."
The Town Council has already pushed back once. At its August 26, 2025 meeting, according to the meeting minutes, the Council voted 4–1 against an overlay that would have allowed 90% residential and 10% commercial. A motion to reject the planning council's work-in-progress master plan proposal as a whole failed 2–3. The Council also agreed to hold a work session with the planning council and to price out a resident survey on the plan's vision. In March 2026, Stet News reported that three new council members won seats after campaigning on protecting residents from overdevelopment. No public record found for this article shows what that Council has since decided about the Four Corners plan.
The other corners are staying put for now
Big Mamma's arrival is the biggest dining change at the intersection, but it is not the only ownership change. Stet News reported that companies led by Josh Simon, a former owner of Abacoa Town Center, paid $13.5 million in May for the 108-room Holiday Inn Express and $2.6 million in October for The Fish House, both before the January 2026 story ran. That gave him 4.5 acres on the southeast corner. Simon told Stet News he has no plans to redevelop and is content to let the hotel and restaurant keep operating. "Just investing," he said. "Boring stuff."
The Fish House's owner, Teo Mendez Lynch, contacted Stet News after the story ran to make sure readers knew the restaurant is not closing. The publication reported that he is pursuing improvements and plans to stay. That is a stated intention as of January 2026, not a guarantee about future use of the site.
Just west of Caretta, the 10-acre Plaza La Mer was bought by Bucksbaum Properties of Chicago for $27 million in September 2023. Stet News reported that the owner has shown no interest in rebuilding, though the center has recently lost its longtime tenant County Line Pizza.
So the corner Big Mamma is joining is still largely the one regulars know, with a hotel, a seafood restaurant under a new landlord, and a shopping plaza with one notable vacancy. Caretta is the piece of new construction, and it is bringing the internationally known tenant.
What has been confirmed, and what has not
The latest public sign of progress came on August 28, 2026. That day, Big Mamma US posted an opening-team General Manager job for Juno Beach that describes a high-volume Italian trattoria launch. Big Mamma's official Florida page still says only "Coming soon."
Neither the official page nor the hiring post gives:
- A restaurant name. The official page refers to the location only as Florida, in Juno Beach.
- A street address within Caretta.
- An opening date more precise than the announced "late 2026."
- Reservation details, seating count or hours.
Two things would settle most of those questions. Caretta's developer would need to announce that construction is finished, and Big Mamma would need to replace "Coming soon" with a name and a booking link.
When an internationally known tenant opens inside a debated mixed-use building, the effects tend to reach beyond the dining room, including how nearby properties are seen and priced. If you own near the Four Corners or are weighing a property along this stretch of U.S. 1 and Donald Ross Road, Wilson & Wilson Private Client can walk you through what the corner's changes may mean for your property, in a confidential conversation. Speak with an Advisor.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
