Where would an Italian Cafè & Artisan Gelato work best? (Miami: rent, condos)

[PJ_Italy]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for some insight from South Florida locals for a future opening of an Italian Café/Artisan Gelato Shop.

Born and raised in South Florida I moved to Italy in my early 20's, now in my early 30's I want to move back home.

While in Italy I worked as apprentice to an Italian gelato maestro in Northern Italy.....I eventully ended running and co-owning two cafes...one more successful than the other.

Me and my Italian business partner want to move to South Florida to open our business since there aren't many opportunities for growth here in Italy.

We've noticed that for this type of business (from experience from our own two bars) that bigger isn't necessarily better. We had a tiny café in the center of town that did very well, we then upgraded to a larger space in a more posh area of the city and didn't do great.

We would produce our own baked goods and authentic gelato daily.

Sooo where would something like this work best? We don't want anything too big, we want somewhere with lots of foot traffic, which obviously means higher rent but well worth it for a small spot in the right location.

Don't think a strip mall in the suburbs would work for this type of business, but some have suggested areas like Weston, Doral, Pinecrest, South Miami, Coral Gables, Brickell, Key Biscayne.

We thought South Beach because of the foot traffic but it already has a bunch of italian gelato shops popping up everywhere.

Our last thought was Key West. Any ideas or insight would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

PJ

[WINTERFRONT]

All of the above

[PJ_Italy]

Originally Posted by WINTERFRONT

All of the above

Well, that's definitely optimistic Winterfront! Thanks for the encouragement.

Maybe I should rephrase my question...where would I get the most bang for my buck initially keeping the business to a very small operation??

You really think people would get their car and drive to just go to a place like that?

[Coconut1]

I would say not Key West. It's not a gelato type crowd.

Since South Beach is filled with gelato shops, I would try Downtown Miami.

There's plenty of cruise ship passenger traffic as well as many offices downtown. Additionally, there's tons of new condos in the area and they're filling up these days. The closer you manage to get to Biscayne Blvd the better.

Outdoor seating is a "must" as tourist have come from colder areas (in the winter) and normally always want to eat outside.

I hope everything works out!!

[flyers29]

Might want to explore the Midtown Miami area since a lot of things are popping up there at the moment. Not sure if there is already a gelato shop there though.

[PJ_Italy]

I'm kind of wary of Downtown, during the day time there might be some business for the coffee rush in the morning and some gelato here and there...but gelato consumption usually happens late afternoon/night after dinner , where Downtown is usually dead.

Midtown Miami looks promising and I've never been, taking a look at it now through google maps...not a lot of foot traffic though..is it more upbeat during the evening??


I know Key West is a party town, but it has 70,000 cruise passengers come in a month...you got families, couples and singles, plus the locals who live there and tourist who stay longer than a cruise stop. I thought it had really good potential for something like this.

[flyers29]

Originally Posted by PJ_Italy

I'm kind of wary of Downtown, during the day time there might be some business for the coffee rush in the morning and some gelato here and there...but gelato consumption usually happens late afternoon/night after dinner , where Downtown is usually dead.

Midtown Miami looks promising and I've never been, taking a look at it now through google maps...not a lot of foot traffic though..is it more upbeat during the evening??


I know Key West is a party town, but it has 70,000 cruise passengers come in a month...you got families, couples and singles, plus the locals who live there and tourist who stay longer than a cruise stop. I thought it had really good potential for something like this.

Have you been back much since you moved? Brickell's experienced a lot of growth including in dining options. Certainly the area north of the Miami River is pretty dead outside the work day but Brickell is doable. Midtown is a newer development, there's a shopping center there with restaurants and a fair amount of foot traffic. Obviously my subjective opinion isn't something to base where you should relocate a business, but there is indeed a lot of potential for growth in those areas.

[Coconut1]

Bayside wouldn't have survived if there were no business downtown. Look up the different hotels down there and go with locations close to them. Cruise ship passengers usually stay downtown as opposed to the beach.

[PJ_Italy]

Originally Posted by WINTERFRONT

All of the above

Originally Posted by flyers29

Have you been back much since you moved?

Trust me all information shared is extremely valuable ,I have, I try and go back once a year, I've seen Brickell have family members living there and seen the way it has changed is incredible.

However, there isn't a lot of foot traffic and it seems like all of the action is concentrated in the Mary Brickell Village. The only reservation I have about this area is that retail spaces available seem to be very large.

I will be coming back this coming January to check all these places out.

[Gottasay]

I've spent a lot of time at Miami International Airport and it is frequently packed w/ people -- have you considered trying there? I realize its not in a beach area, but it gets TONS of foot traffic.