The Opium Group Evolution

Photography by Chelsea Olson ; PHOTOS: Seth Browarnik on April 18th, 2013 in Celebrity, Clubs, Flashback, Nightlife

Eric & Francis Milon at SET

The Opium Group‘s empire has spanned over 20 years of South Beach nightlife. The founding trifecta of brothers Eric and Francis Milon and Roman Jones started from just a tiny cafe, and have now grown to own and operate four of South Beach’s biggest, most prominent clubs on the scene- Mansion, SET, Mokai, and Cameo. They ran the hottest spots on the strip and had celebrities coming out to party at their clubs and lounges on the regular throughout the nineties and 2000’s like Living Room, Opium Garden, and Prive. Having seen it all and accomplished so much to date, The Opium Group continues to evolve and reinvent itself- most recently though the reopening of Lincoln Road’s staple club SET. Here we chat with founder Eric Milon and get to hear his stories first hand from back in the day to present day- talking about Opium’s current and future projects and rumors last month of a buyout. Take a look at photos from our archives from over ten years ago up to recently and get a glimpse into the life of one of Miami’s biggest nightclub operators.

Living Room – 1995-2001

Living Room was the first club/lounge that brothers Francis and Eric Milon opened in 1995. That was the year nightlife really took off in Miami, and it was always packed with party people and the biggest celebrities like Al Pacino and Sylvester Stallone. It was the VIP of the VIP, where people came to enjoy themselves in the comfort of what felt like the Milon’s living room.

Eric & Francis Milon at Living Room for an Ocean Drive shoot on October 18, 2000

Eric Milon & Tyson Beckford at Crave Party at Living Room on October 12, 2000

Eric Milon: It was the scene then, and it’s still the scene today. Of course there are more nightclubs now as business has grown, and the scene is booming more than ever. It was 1995 that the scene started buzzing. When we opened our lounge The Living Room, it was the best the beach had ever seen. We had celebrities, singers, actresses- Harrison Ford, JLO, P. Diddy, Madonna- everyone showed up to the club unannounced– none of them were paid to appear, it was just for fun. Since then, it’s become a business for a lot of celebrities to go to clubs and get paid for it. Eventually their fees became more expensive, and we said to ourselves, let’s change the celebrities for DJs as the DJ and the music is the staple of what draws people to the club. So over the last six or seven years, the DJs became celebrities, and their fees also went up, some of them are through the roof.

Mike Tyson & Cedric Adegnika at Living Room on January 10, 2001

Lil’ Kim & Susan Scott at Living Room on June 7, 2000

Jay-Z at Living Room on March 2, 2001

Café Tabac – 1997-2001

Café Tabac was where it all started for The Opium Group. It was the first space that they acquired, and through its success as a restaurant, ended up expanding even further and branching out within the space to open the clubs. The indoor/outdoor cafe was perfect for the breezy South of Fifth locale where they served French Moroccan food in the late nineties and early 2000.

Francis Milon at Cafe Tabac on January 15, 1999

EM: It was actually my brother, Francis, who asked his friend, Roman Jones, to join us in looking at a space in South of Fifth that was a then-shuttered nightclub. We were offered a little cafe space on the ground floor which we called Café Tabac. The cafe became very successful, so we took the next space available above the cafe which we made into Japanese restaurant with a DJ, and from there, we then grew into another space in the building and built a mojito room with a jungle theme. Then the large courtyard space became available, and next thing we knew, we had taken over every space in the building which was then known as Opium Restaurant and Opium Garden.

Opium Garden – 2001-2009

The first club of The Opium Group was born in 2001. Opium opened under the realm of the Milons and Roman Jones, and was like nothing South Beach had ever seen. It was in the former Amnesia space, and from day one was a smashing success. It became one of the first real super clubs as it expanded to have some indoor/outdoor area, Prive as the VIP, and the garden.

Opium Garden, January 2001

Michael Robbins, Gene Simmons, Stacy & Eric Milon at Opium Garden on January 9, 2001

Prince at Opium Garden on March 20, 2001

Eric Milon, Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, & Stacy Milon at Sean “P. Diddy” Combs’ Birthday at Opium Garden on November 2, 2001

Keenan Wayans, Eric Milon, & Shawn Wayans at Opium Garden on June 30, 2002

Paul Oakenfold & Eric Milon at Opium on November 25, 2002

Ja Rule, Eric Milon, & Sean “P. Diddy” Combs at Opium on December 15, 2002

Destiny’s Child & Eric Milon at Opium on December 15, 2002

JC Chasez of N’SYNC & Eric Milon at Opium on December 15, 2002

Opium Garden, March 2003

Tommy Matola, Thalia, & Eric Milon at Opium on May 8, 2003

Wyclef Jean & Eric Milon at Opium on June 1, 2003

EM: The day we opened Opium Garden, 2,000 people showed up, which was both overwhelming and awesome. Shortly after, we opened Prive as a VIP room within the club, and simultaneously, we formed The Opium Group through which we created Mansion. Mansion was the answer to the noise issues we had with Opium as an open outdoor space , but with Mansion we could bring in big DJs and turn up the music as loud as we like. From Mansion, there was the need to create a club for our VIP clientele, and our answer was SET. So we took the space at 320 LIncoln and successfully opened SET almost 7 years ago. From that we spinned off a couple other clubs – Louis, Mokai and Cameo, which was formerly Crobar.

Eric Milon, Jamie Kennedy, & David Grutman at Opium on May 23, 2003

Enrique Iglesias & Eric Milon at Opium on August 29, 2003

Roman Jones & Mark Ronson at Opium Garden on August 30, 2003

Darryl “D.M.C.” Matthews McDaniels & Eric Milon at Opium on October 12, 2003

Method Man, Eric Milon, & Redman at Opium on October 12, 2003

Prive – 2002-2009

Opium Garden grew tremendously in its first year, with tons of celebrities always filling the club. So the demand for an exclusive VIP lead to the opening of Prive the following year in 2002. For seven years, the VIP extension of Opium was always packed with the who’s who of the scene and had the best DJs spinning.

Eric Milon, Michael Capponi, & Sofia Vergara at Prive on October 18, 2002

Jason Statham & Eric Milon at Prive on September 24, 2004

Michael Capponi, Alicia Silverstone, Eric Milon, & Navin Chatani at Prive on April 15, 2005

Francis Milon & Tiesto at Prive on January 13, 2006

Prive, January 2006

Louis – 2008-2012

In 2008 TOG found the time and perfect space to open Louis. The downstairs club at the then-Gansevoort hotel was one of the first to extend South Beach, and Opium Group’s, realm into the north side of Collins Avenue with its location at 23 Street. Smaller than the super-mega Opium, Louis threw some of the best parties on a weekly basis, and due to its size, was very exclusive.

Marilyn Manson & Isani Griffith at the Trismegistus Exhibition After Party at Louis on December 4, 2008

Chris Jones, Lindsay Lohan, Samantha Ronson, & Roman Jones at Louis on December 13, 2008

Chris Jones, Michael Phelps, & Roman Jones at Louis on January 6, 2009

Mansion – 2004-present

The second mega-club in The Opium Group came in 2004 and has been going strong ever since. After a major redesign, Mansion has updated its look but stayed true to TOG concept. Its name became synonymous with South Beach nightlife, and has been bringing the biggest DJs and tons of celebrities since it opened nearly 10 years ago.

Mansion when it first opened in January 2006

Mansion, February 2004

Eric Milon & Jeremy Piven at Mansion on December 25, 2004

EM: Fifteen years ago, house music was in, and hip hop was just emerging on the club scene. Then hip hop took over, moved from the back room to the front room. And then then six or seven years ago it started changing again, with hip hop fading out a little, and rock and roll mashups taking over.Then house music started coming back, and over the last five years, ithas become a constilation of DJs. They’re commanding scenes, with six figures and it’s something we never thought would be possible. That’s the evolution. EDM is not just nightclub driven- now it’s stadium driven- it’s on the radio and has mass appeal. People listen to [Swedish House Mafia] and they they sing the lyrics just like they would to any rock song.

Mansion, December 2004

Mansion, February 2012

Francis Milon & David LaChapelle at David LaChapelle’s ‘Rize’ Premiere at Mansion on July 9, 2005

Nick Nolte & Eric Milon at Mansion on June 16, 2005

Roman Jones & Mark Lehmkuhl at Mansion on June 17, 2005

Eric Milon & Roman Jones at New Year’s Eve at Mansion on December 31, 2005

Mansion, January 2013

Eric Milon & Robert Downey, Jr at Mansion on April 1, 2006

Francis Milon, Wyclef Jean, & Roman Jones at Wyclef Jean & The MisShapes at Mansion on January 28, 2006

Francis Milon, Wyclef Jean, Roman Jones, & Zoe at Wyclef Jean & The MisShapes at Mansion on January 28, 2006

Francis Milon & DJ Irie at Kevin Federline & Taye Diggs at Mansion on June 16, 2006

Francis Milon & Mr Mauricio at DJ Vice’s Birthday at Mansion on October 13, 2006

Francis Milon & Gabrielle Union at Mansion on December 27, 2006

Eric Milon & Roman Jones at Mansion on November 30, 2007

Paris Hilton & Francis Milon at Mansion on December 5, 2007

Roman Jones & Nicki Minaj at Mansion for Nicki Minaj’s “Pink Friday” Album Release at Mansion on November 1, 2010

EM: I think EDM is here to stay. This year has shown that more than ever with a record number of people coming to town for Ultra and Miami Music Week. As for The Opium Group, we’re really embracing different music formats and enjoy being at the forefront of the industry in this respect. In the same way that we’ve not gone corporate, we’ve also introduced the market to different DJs, allowing guests to experience great music without always going to the megaclub for the mega DJ with mega fees. Of course we bring our share of those mega DJs to the beach as well, but for example, our Thursday night at Mansion, Kontrol, is at the forefront of cultivating the underground sound, being the first club on the beach to book underground acts like Art Department, Seth Troxler, Jamie Jones and many more.

Mansion, March 2013

SET – 2007-present

Much like how Opium Garden created a need for Prive as the VIP, Mansion grew to need a VIP club as well. This time, TOG took over Spin and made it into SET. The only true club on Lincoln Road, SET is in the midst of the hustle and bustle, and after five years, just reopened with its new look. The redesign has completely updated and transformed the experience to be even better than before.

SET, February 2007

Roman Jones, Eric Milon, Francis Milon, & Michael Capponi at SET on February 9, 2007

EM: We had Mansion, but we needed a boutique-sized club for our VIPs. SET satisfied that demand. Megaclubs are great, and they have a purpose- we have the space to accommodate big DJs that people want to see. Places like SET can’t accommodate such large scale events, so we create a club that’s just for VIPs and has a restricted number of tables- in this case 12 tables in all- and bring the right people together to enjoy a great party combined with a great surrounding, exciting features, beautiful people, and the right guest list.

Roman Jones & Francis Milon at SET on February 9, 2007

Eric Milon, Mickey Rourke, & Santa Fe at SET on March 30, 2007

Tonia Sergei, Mr Mauricio, Gabrielle Union, Navin Chatani, & Francis Milon at SET on April 5, 2007

Wayne Boich & Eric Milon at SET on October 12, 2007

Tonia Sergei, Cedric Gervais, & Francis Milon at SET on October 21, 2007

SET, November 2007

SET, March 2013

EM: It had been almost 7 years, and I believe every few years a club should reinvent itself. It’s the same reason you change your car every few years– people like change, ourselves included.

SET, March 2013

Afrojack at SET, March 30, 2013

Cameo – 2010-present

One of the newer Opium acquisitions, what used to be Crobar was taken over by TOG to reopen as Cameo. In what has only been nearly three years, Cameo feels like it’s been a South Beach staple much longer because it’s always busy and the topic of conversation, mainly for its top-of-the-line hip hop bookings.

Cameo, May 2012

Chris Brown at Cameo on February 18, 2012

On TOG’s recent decision to stay independent and not go with a corporate buy out… EM: It gives us the ability to do things the way we want. We can keep growing in the direction we choose, and that’s as important as any financial deal. And as locals, we saw it as a good decision for the growth and prosperity of South Beach.

Kelly Rowland, Trey Songz, & Bow Wow at Cameo for DJ Affect’s Birthday on March 24, 2012

Missy Elliot & Timbaland at Cameo on September 1, 2012

Cameo, December 2012

Cameo, January 2013

Cameo, March 2013

Tiny, T.I., Teyana Taylor, & Miley Cyrus at Cameo on April 6, 2013

Mokai – 2010-present

Mokai is the other newer offspring for TOG that joined the 23 Street neighborhood in 2010. It’s smaller and more intimate, which allows things to get a little more wild at some of the more scandalous parties that go down there. Its Monday night party has become infamous as one of the best things to do on a Monday night.

EM: 2013 has been a great year for us, and right now I’m focusing on what we have going on in front of us. Going into 2014, we may have another project- a beach club or restaurant. I’d also like to see an underground music-focused club, as personally I like that sound. As for The Opium Group, we’re continuing to do what we always have – buy new clubs, renovate the ones we have, discover new DJs – we are here for the long haul.