I spoke to co-owner Thea Goldman about the monumental nature of what they're doing and where they're doing it. Here's some of what she had to say.
"It's extraordinary. All our pasta is made from scratch every day right here in Wynwood. (Our chef) Ivo Mazzon is here bright and early every morning with his pasta machine. We created a menu to attract everyone. If we don't have the starving artists eating here, then we don't deserve to be here. I mean look, (points to menu), we made everything in two sizes. Where else can you get a spaghetti pomodoro for five dollars. And our pizza, the dough uses the best Italian flour, the sauce, beautiful cheese. We have a sirloin steak for sixteen dollars. I go to Europe...London and France, and working people at lunch, they have their wine and steak, we need protein, that's what we're doing.
"We have the most interesting clientele...the starving artists, the
patrons of the arts, the real estate people, the suits from Brickell,
they're sick of the Mary Brickell Village, it's not cool.
We have the old Puerto Ricans from the neighborhood and the Koreans who
still own a lot of the buildings, and they all want to see each other.
"We do urban restoration, we don't come into the neighborhood and say
Joey's is here get outta the way, we hire from the neighborhood, our
staff is local, I mean they have to learn the difference between peccorino (a cheese) and prosecco (a wine), but they're doing it, and
they want to do it. Now we can feed and water the neighborhood. We want
to create an oasis of culture, food and wine. There's a passion here.
Our chef Ivo is here 16 hours a day, and when he's not here, he's
dreaming up his next menu."
"My husband Joey, when he was 5 or
6 years old, his father opened the first nightclub in a part of New
York called SOHO, it was The Green Street Cafe, do you think he was
going to school, no he was there at the club watching it all happen
from the third story, the artists ate for free, they traded their work
for food, and now it's the second generation of that, we're here in
Miami and we have a son, Jake, and we're doing it all over."
"We have free valet, security, the police are providing so much security, the Mayor cut our ribbon for us, we invite you."
--Jacob Katel
