Udonis Haslem Opens Einstein Bros. Bagels Location at MiamiCentral

This Friday, the Miami Heat's Udonis Haslem will open an Einstein Bros. Bagels in MiamiCentral, which serves Florida's Brightline passengers.

Located inside the southernmost terminal, the fast-casual restaurant will offer its signature lineup of bagels, sandwiches, coffee, and select pastries.

"MiamiCentral and Brightline are helping transform South Florida, and we're excited to be a part of the movement,” says Haslem. “Einstein Bros. Bagels is going to make a positive impact not only by providing jobs to those in need, but also by adding a new dining venue to the area for both locals and visitors to experience."

Owned by food and beverage operator JFC Miami, a partnership between the beloved basketball forward and Ramona D. Hall, Einstein will offer positions to unemployed job seekers as well as young adults from low-income families, providing them an opportunity to enhance their work-readiness skills while earning an income. The opening of this location brings more than 30 new jobs to the area, and nearly 100 jobs have been created since the inception of JFC Miami.

"JFC Miami is committed to providing opportunities directly to youth and adults from the communities we invest in," Hall tells New Times. "We are fortunate to have a partner in CareerSource Florida and the Employ Miami-Dade Project, who have assisted us with identifying a great group of candidates.

"Many of our new team members have been unemployed or underemployed for two or more years," she continues. "Our goal moving forward to our opening is to provide comprehensive training to our new employees to include customer service training, conflict resolution in the workplace, and extensive brand training in-store."

For the past decade, Haslem has owned and operated fast-casual restaurants throughout Miami-Dade and Broward Counties either on his own or with JFC Miami.

Einstein Bros. Bagels marks the second food-and-beverage spot to open at MiamiCentral. This past July, Joe & the Juice, a popular Denmark-based juice and coffee concept with more than 200 locations around the world, debuted on the first floor of the Brightline station.

Einstein Bros. Bagels and Joe & the Juice are part of MiamiCentral's 11-acre development, which spans six blocks in downtown Miami. Once complete, it will include office and residential towers, a major grocer, and a food hall called Central Fare. Expected to open this fall, Central Fare will include outposts of the Miami Beach-based French café Rosetta Bakery and the Japanese-Spanish fusion spot Kuenko. Other concepts in the lineup are the boutique coffee shop Parliament Espresso and the Los Angeles pizza joint 800° Woodfired Kitchen. More than a dozen other vendors have yet to been announced.

Einstein Bros. Bagels. Opens Friday, August 17, at MiamiCentral, 155 NW Sixth St., Miami. Monday through Friday 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.