Popular Miami Sandwich Pop-Up Opens South Miami Shop

What do you get when a fine-dining chef and a luxury hotel pro decide to open a sandwich shop? Not just any sandwich — but a saucy, stacked, flavor-bomb of a creation that's been quietly winning over locals since it popped up inside a Doral food hall in 2023.

Less than two years later, Sndwch Miami has now opened its first standalone shop. Located on Sunset Drive in South Miami, Sndwch is as grassroots as it gets. Husband-and-wife duo Adrian Patron and Dominique Hawit-Patron, both seasoned hospitality veterans, build every sandwich the way they love to eat: with locally baked bread, high-quality proteins, and scratch-made sauces.

From a Pandemic Project Into a Couple's Dream Sandwich Shop

The South Miami location marks a new chapter for the couple, who first gained a following on Instagram during the COVID-19 pandemic through a side project called the Dumpling Lady. Soon, what started as a hobby quickly scaled into a full-time operation, with the pair producing roughly 5,000 dumplings per week from a commissary kitchen and selling them frozen to customers cooking at home.

That business eventually expanded into high-end catering for private events. Still, they felt something was missing. "My husband always wanted to open a sandwich shop," Hawit-Patron says. "In early 2023, we saw an empty stall at Shoma Bazaar in Doral, and we just went for it. Within a month, we had gone from nothing to a full-on concept."

In one month, the couple went from "nothing to a full-on concept." Sndwch launched inside the food hall in March 2023 and quickly earned a steady customer base. Though the dumpling business remains active behind the scenes — they most recently catered dumplings for Eva Longoria's 50th birthday yacht party — the sandwich shop has become the couple's main focus. "It's been a journey," she says. "It's just my husband and I. We're a small mom-and-pop shop hoping to grow more."

Chef-Inspired Deli-Style Sandwiches Come to Life

The pair, who met while both working at the Mandarin Oriental Miami, has deep roots in the hospitality industry. Patron, a Culinary Institute of America graduate, trained as a chef in New York before working at several high-end Miami restaurants, including The Matador Room under chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. Hawit-Patron studied hospitality and food and beverage management in Chicago before relocating to Miami, where she worked at the Mandarin Oriental and Four Seasons. That mix of back-of-house technique and front-of-house insight helped shape the vision for Sndwch.

"I think in his mind, he didn't want something overly high-end," she says. "He went to NSU for college, and Laspada's was the go-to spot for all the students. He's always been a sandwich lover and wanted to create something that resonated with his own style and process. The elevated part — that's where I come in. He's the chef, but I've always been front-of-house, so I brought in my perspective on how people like to eat. If you look at LaSpada's, it's very traditional. We took that idea of a fresh sandwich and built it into something more refined."

At Sndwch, nearly everything is done in-house and by hand. The bread comes from Sullivan Street Bakery, though the couple opts for the bakery's elongated focaccia rather than its more traditional loaves. Sauces like pesto mayo and Calabrian chili aioli are made from scratch. A full ball of burrata is used in each sandwich that calls for it. There are no pre-portioned deli slices or shortcut condiments.

"We've tried a lot of sandwiches and spent time in Italy tasting what people were doing," Hawit-Patron says. "We're not the most traditional sandwich, but we're definitely the most delicious." Plus, portions are generous — each sandwich includes about four ounces of protein — and the pair says they put an emphasis on consistency and value. "You get what you pay for," she says. "The sandwiches are massive."

Looking ahead, the couple hopes to expand. "We believe in the product and know people love the food," she said. "We want to grow, but only in a way that lets us stay hands-on and protect the quality."

Sndwch Miami. 1573 Sunset Dr., Coral Gables; sndwchmiami.com.