The original Granny Feelgood's has stood at 25 West Flagler Street, in Downtown Miami's legal district since 1971.
The restaurant serves a variety of breakfasts, salads, sandwiches, and home cooked style meals as well as healthy fare like smoothies and wheatgrass.
Granny's caters mostly to the cop, judge, lawyer, secretary crowd that populates downtown though co-owner Gregory Huzenman believes in the area as a tourist destination.
Huzenman and his partner bought the business from original owner Irving Field (not the composer as far as we can tell) "about 10 years ago."
Huzenman says, "I was walking down the street on Columbus Day, October 12th, 2000 and saw Irving standing outside. I asked him what he's doing there on holiday and he said he was gonna sell the place. I said I'll take it and we shook hands and that was that."
Huzenman is no stranger to Downtown Miami, or the restaurant business. He says, "We've been here since 1979 starting with Argen El Arriero, an Argentine steakhouse. We were targeting all of the South Americans back when downtown was a place for tourists. My partner is a guy named William Berman. We ran Cafe Nosh for 24 years, and also own Cafe Floridita.
I'm from Argentina. I'm a clothing designer originally and I had a factory there. I didn't like the military government so I moved to Miami with my wife and 3 kids and became a restaurateur.
I think Downtown is coming back. Right now most of my customers all wear suits, they come here for their lunch break from work. But it should be a destination, not a duty. We need movie theaters. The condos are just a few blocks away, but they're empty. What we're missing is entertainment. But I can see it coming back. There's going to be Burger King, a KFC, and a Lime opening here, so that's good. Colleagues are always welcome."
So what's Huzenman's secret to longevity in the restaurant business? "You have to heart. You don't give anybody what you wouldn't put in your own mouth. The customer has to love it. I have people who have been working for me 20, 25 years. This is a family."
Granny Feelgood's
25 West Flagler Street, Miami
305-377-9600
