Federal Donuts to Open First Miami Location Thursday

Federal Donuts, the highly anticipated Miami outpost of Michael Solomonov and Steve Cook's Philadelphia doughnut-and-fried-chicken palace, will finally debut this week. Dizengoff, Solomonov's house of hummus, will open in a few weeks.

The restaurant is scheduled to open Thursday at the epicenter of what will soon become Wynwood's eating and drinking hub. The restaurant will offer booth seating and a window counter in a space designed by Boxwood Architects.

Federal Donuts managing partner Tom Henneman says the neighborhood's artistic community is a major part of the reason to add a Wynwood location. “We’ve been feeding off the creative energy of artists since day one, as we’ve been feeding them fried chicken and doughnuts. It’s in our DNA, so it made perfect sense to open our first shop here." In keeping with the Wynwood tradition of incorporating art into establishments, a custom mural by Philadelphia artist Nosego will be prominently featured as a nod to the restaurant's Pennsylvania roots.

The shop will open each morning to serve "hot fresh" doughnuts ($1.75 each, $7.50 for a half-dozen, or $13 for a dozen) turned out from a robot fryer and then tossed in house-blended sugar. Flavors include strawberry lavender, cinnamon brown sugar, and cookies 'n' cream.

"Fancy" cake doughnuts, also made fresh daily, come covered in specialty glazes and in flavors such as guava poppy, strawberry shortcake, lemon meringue, black & white, chocolate eclair, and blueberry mascarpone. They cost $2.76 each, $13 for a half-dozen, or $24 for a dozen).

At 11 a.m., the fried chicken will come out. Fried twice to ensure crispness, the bird is offered in a choice of seasonings and glazes, such as coconut curry, chili garlic, honey ginger, za'atar, and sweet soy garlic. Purists can opt for it "naked."  A half chicken costs $11 and includes a breast, two thighs, and two drumsticks. A whole ($22) includes two split breasts, two thighs, and two drumsticks. All orders are served with a honey doughnut.

The Miami location will also offer the restaurant's chicken sandwich ($7.50), a fried boneless chicken breast dusted in house ranch seasoning and topped with American cheese, a dill pickle, and spicy rooster sauce on a Martin's potato roll.

And because you simply cannot have doughnuts without coffee, Federal Donuts will serve Panther Coffee’s Finca La Amistad blend (both hot and cold brew).

This is the first Federal Donuts outside Philadelphia, but Miami's love affair with doughnuts, coffee, and fried chicken is strong, Solomonov says. "We were so inspired by the vibrancy of Wynwood that it just made sense to make our first location outside of our hometown here.”

If you want to try your hand at making Solomonov's doughnuts at home, the book Federal Donuts: The (Partially) True Spectacular Story is available for presale on Amazon.

Federal Donuts
250 NW 24th St., Miami; 305-573-9393, federaldonuts.com. Sunday through Wednesday 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., Thursday through Saturday 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.