The folks behind Phuc Yea! and the Federal Food Drink & Provisions have made their partnership legal, forming the Pious Pig Restaurant Group, and will pop out their first project in mid-September.
Acme Bakery & Coffee, moving into the Brooklyn Bagel space in midtown Miami, will offer homemade pastries, breads, and candies by Cindy Kruse, former pastry chef at Amir Ben-Zion's Gigi, along with Panther Coffee.
"We're trying to bring the tradition of European pastry-making with sort of an America sensibility," Alejandro Ortiz says. Ortiz also helped develop Michelle Bernstein's Design District bakery, Crumb on Parchment.
Beyond running Acme and the Federal, the owners hope to fill the empty culinary niches around town, Ortiz says. They might be looking to build on the success of Phuc Yea!
"With something like a bakery-café, we see a real need in Miami," he says. "Even in upstate New York in these little villages, you have them, but in Miami you lack that.
"In the Federal, we see a future in being able to do some sideways brand expansion," Ortiz continues, "and of course being able to tap into the niche Phuc Yea! tapped into a year ago and pursue that concept."
At Acme, he says, staff will be learning the ins and outs of coffee and training with Panther owner Joel Pollock.
"They're not just going to be serving it," Ortiz says. "They'll be familiar with what [Panther] is all about."
Pollock, meanwhile, seems to be planning for more of these types of partnerships. Earlier this month, he announced the opening of a second location in Sunset Harbour in Miami Beach and told Short Order he's in the midst of taking over a second space in Wynwood solely for roasting coffee.
The real-estate portion of the deal was handled by none other than Miami's favorite chef-turned-realtor Jonathan Eismann. Eismann is the former owner of Pizza Volante, Fin, and Q.
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