Ice Box Cafe and Panther Coffee are open for business

Panther Coffee in Sunset Harbour

In case you were wondering….both Ice Box Cafe and Panther Coffee were open and doing a nice lunchtime business in Sunset Harbour on Tuesday…..

The neighborhood should be hopping this weekend!

 

Sunrise in Sunset Harbour: Panther Coffee, Tequitzlan Mexican and Ice Box may open this week

Panther Coffee is almost ready to brew in Sunset Harbour.

There was a barista behind the gleaming expresso machine at the new Panther Coffee in Sunset Harbour on Saturday, but the coffee house won’t be open until some time later this week.

Management is waiting on a certificate of occupancy from the city of Miami Beach, and it’s a day-to-day thing.  But the space, facing the Sunset Harbour condos, looks great. They won’t be roasting beans here, as they do in Wynwood, but the space seems bigger, with more seating.

A sneak peak into Ice Box.

A couple of shops down at 1855 Purdy Ave., workers labored Saturday at the new Ice Box Cafe location.

The Miami Beach favorite closed its tiny just-off Lincoln Road (on Michigan Avenue ) location on Sunday, and plans to open in Sunset Harbour as soon as Mother’s Day. The new space dwarfs the tiny Lincoln Road location, and features a full bar and lots of table space.

By the way, while traveling last weekend, Belle Isle Blog stumbled upon an Ice Box that opened in Concourse A at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport (near Gate A9, to be specific).

At DFW Airport.

The DFW shop is desserts only, unlike the spot in Miami International, which features a wide range of takeout sandwiches and salads.

Meanwhile, on the Bay Road side of the Shoppes at Sunset Harbour, Tequitzlan Mexican Restaurant and Tequila bar is racing toward an opening day.

Tequitzlan Mexican readies for opening.

The spacious spot features some unique lighting fixtures, and a large bar. The staff on site Saturday said they hope to be open for customers on Thursday.

The restaurants will join the Shoppes pioneers, starting with Juan Plasencia’s Sunset Clothing Co., and Frankie’s Boutique, both of which opened in November.

Last month, ice cream eatery Emack & Bolio opened up, featuring great ice creams and frozen yogurts.

First stores opening at Sunset Harbour parking garage; construction inside old Joe Allen space

Sunset Clothing Co. owner Juan Plasencia in his new store.

We walked around the neighborhood Saturday and discovered the first stores open at the new parking garage at Sunset Harbour — and construction workers at recently closed Georgia’s Union restaurant, in the old Joe Allen space.

The Sunset Clothing Co. is owned and run by Juan Plasencia, who ran Post Blue Jean Co. on Lincoln Road for more than a decade.

Plasencia, who lives in the neighborhood (down the street, near the corner of Purdy and 17th Street), opened the store at 1895 Purdy Ave. on Friday.

Plasencia made the move from Lincoln Road because rent simply became too high for a boutique retailer competing with the huge chains. Post had a terrific reputation.

Here’s what Yelp’s Maria Argüello wrote about Post a couple years back:

With close to a dozen different denim labels, tees, and even Diesel footware, this store is what American Apparel should have been, a symbol of American purpose and quality. It just doesn’t get more American than jeans and T-shirts.

Plasencia says he’s eager to cater to a neighborhood clientele.

We saw other signs of life in the Sunset shops. Frankie’s Boutique, next door to Sunset Clothing Co., had display cases of sunglasses and jewelry and racks of clothes visible in the windows, so opening seems imminent.

And construction crews worked feverishly Saturday at Panther Coffee, Tequitzlan Mexican Restaurant and Tequila Bar, and True Loaf Bakery. But from appearances, they still had a lot of work to do.

Interior of Georgia’s Union.

Meanwhile, at the old Joe Allen space, which housed Morgan’s and Georgia’s Union during the last two years, construction crews were working as well. No word on what is next for that space, but renovation is underway — again.

A shame about Georgia’s Union, which closed in early October after a run of less than four months.

Miami Beach plans Oct. 16 ceremony for Sunset Harbour Shops & Garage

The Sunset Harbour parking garage is open, and work is underway on the array of retail space that is expected to open beginning sometime in December.

On Oct. 16 at 9:30 a.m., Miami Beach Mayor Matti Herrera Bower and developer Scott Robins will hold a ceremonial opening.

Among the restaurants and stores under construction: Panther Coffee, Ice Box Cafe, Emack & Bolio’s Ice Cream, Eberjey Lingerie, Tequitzlan Restaurant and Tequila Bar, Lucali Pizza from Brooklyn, Splendor Restaurant, Sunset Clothing Co., and True Loaf Artisanal Bakery.

The four-level garage above the retail shops has 460 spaces that cost $1 an hour. The location is between 18th and 20th streets between Bay Road and Purdy Avenue.

The garage and retail space is a joint venture between the city of Miami Beach and developer Scott Robins and partner Philip Levine. It was designed by Arquitectonica.

Sunset Harbour garage is open for parking

Rendering of the Shops at Sunset Harbour.

Rates at the Sunset Harbour garage start at $1 an hour

Some construction projects seem to take forever — some, but not all.

The new city of Miami Beach parking garage at Sunset Harbour quietly opened this week ($1 an hour up to six hours), and work moves forward on the ground level retail spaces that will house Ice Box Cafe, Panther Coffee and other attractions.

The garage, designed by Architectonica, has 450 spaces and 30,000 square feet of retail on the sidewalk level.

It should make access a heck of a lot easier for one of Miami Beach’s hottest neighborhoods.