Bernie Sanders Debate Preps at Batch Gastropub

Last evening, as Bill de Blasio, Tim Ryan, Julián Castro, Cory Booker, Elizabeth Warren, Beto O’Rourke, Amy Klobuchar, Tulsi Gabbard, Jay Inslee, and John Delaney took to the Arsht Center stage for the first night of the Democratic presidential debates, Bernie Sanders was downing a Coke with friends.

The Vermont senator was seen at Brickell's Batch Gastropub, about the same time the first Democratic debate started.

Sanders was with a small group of about four people, according to Identity Media's Ana Rivera, who happened to be dining at the restaurant when the presidential hopeful walked in. "We were having dinner and didn't know he was coming. As a Brickell resident, it's great he came to a neighborhood spot."

Rivera said Sanders didn't say much, but he did take pictures with a number of people at the eatery.

.@BernieSanders arrives at the Homestead Migrant Detention Facility pic.twitter.com/oKEDekQ2z4

— Johnny Verhovek (@JTHVerhovek) June 27, 2019

Earlier today, Sanders visited the Homestead migrant children's shelter. His wife, Jane, had stopped by the day before. In a video posted to his Twitter account, Sanders said, "America is not about locking children up." He promised to bring together the leaders of Central American countries and Mexico to find a solution for citizens fleeing their homelands. In last evening's debate, fellow candidate Elizabeth Warren called for the child-migrant center to be shut down. Warren visited the center a few hours before the debate.

I'm going to be on the debate stage tomorrow night. This will be my message. #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/90fHBDQMpv

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) June 26, 2019

Sanders posted another video on Twitter, outlining the points he wanted to make at tonight's debate. They include wiping out student debt and ensuring U.S. citizens have access to healthcare and decent jobs. Sanders said he would address climate change, noting it is already affecting Miami. It seems it was also affecting Sanders, who called the weather "hot here, a little muggy."

Sanders takes the stage at 9 tonight for round two of the Democratic debates. He will face off against John Hickenlooper, Kamala Harris, Michael Bennet, Eric Swalwell, Marianne Williamson, Kristen Gillibrand, Andrew Yang, Pete Buttigieg, and Joe Biden.

Batch Gastropub. 30 SW 12th St., Miami; 305-808-5555; batchmiami.com.