13 January 5-11, 2023 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | Contents | Letters | news | night+Day | CuLture | Cafe | MusiC | miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | CONTENTS | LETTERS | RIPTIDE | METRO | NIGHT+DAY | STAGE | ART | FILM | CAFE | MUSIC | location of Carmela Toast & Coffee Bar, giv- ing Parkland their take on a neighborhood coffeehouse and avocado toast bar. “We didn’t have any independent coffee shops, so without knowing much about the business, we decided to open one,” says Abreu, adding they quickly outgrew the 1,000-square-foot store, later expanding to double their footprint when the space next door became available. “Little did we know it would be a hit, much less that we were build- ing a franchise brand.” At the time, the business partners had no intention of creating a local brand, but less than a year later, they had a second location in Pompano Beach, bringing their comfort- oriented coffee shops across South Florida. During the pandemic, the duo created a mobile application for online ordering and deliveries, helping to fuel business growth despite the shutdown of dining rooms. Then, in 2021, they expanded into a franchise model, opening their first partner location in Delray Beach, followed by Boca Raton and West Palm Beach. Today, Carmela has more than a half dozen locations across South Florida, with two more set to open as the brand expands into northern Palm Beach County alongside several franchise partners. In addition to its new locations, Camela plans to expand its “selfieccino” station to all its stores. The service is available at the East Boca Raton store at 3200 N. Federal Hwy., where the innovative technology allows pa- trons to customize their cappuccino or latte art with edible, espresso-based ink. After connecting to Wi-Fi, guests can ac- cess the machine’s cloud-based library that offers thousands of royalty-free designs or upload and share their own branded images and photos. “We’ve had people print selfies, pictures of their pets, messages for friends — we’ve even had someone propose,” shares Abreu. “It’s super cool to watch. It happens in sec- onds, and the images are so precise.” But it might just be Carmela’s other Insta- gram-worthy offerings that draw repeat cus- tomers. To date, its creators admit their stores sell more avocado toast than coffee. “When we were developing the business plan, we knew we weren’t going to just be a coffee bar, so we decided to create a food menu, something else to make us stand out,” explains Abreu. “The toasts became so popu- lar, we even rebranded recently to include ‘toast’ in the name.” With more than a half dozen takes on avo- cado toast, including a build-your-own op- tion, Carmela’s main menu item has a special place in their customers’ hearts (and social media accounts), says Abreu. Today, nearly a dozen signature avocado toasts feature several mix-and-match ingre- dients, from prosciutto, poached egg, or smoked salmon to strawberries, arugula, or burrata. Each toast is made using a locally baked, thick-sliced ciabatta bread delivered daily and topped with a heaping portion of fresh-sliced avocado — each location goes through hundreds a day — fresh to order. “South Florida has really embraced Car- mela,” sums up Abreu. “We’re grateful to be a part of this community and to share our vi- sion and community meeting spaces with so many people.” NICOLE DANNA
