Carrot Express Returns Home to Sunset Harbour

A decade before Miami's healthy food chain Carrot Express became widely known in South Florida for its health-conscious salads, bowls, and smoothies, its beginnings were incredibly humble, as it first opened as a tiny lunch counter inside of a Miami Beach gas station.

Now, more than a decade later, the fast-casual healthy restaurant chain has just opened its 28th location, steps away from where it all started in Sunset Harbour.

Carrot Express Sunset Harbour has opened at 1828 Bay Rd., Miami Beach, which is only a five-minute walk from its original gas-station spot.

How South Florida's Beloved Carrot Express Chain Originally Started

The brand first opened in the 1990s under the name "Gourmet Carrot" on a stretch of West Flagler. However, it wasn't the entrepreneurial success Carrot Express founder Mario Laufer expected, and it closed.

Despite the challenge, he didn't give up.

It wasn't until years later, in 2012, that the original outpost of Carrot Express opened at a Texaco gas station on Alton Road managed by Laufer alongside his parents and sister.

This is why Laufer tells New Times that the new Carrot Express outpost feels like such a full-circle moment.

"It feels incredible," says Laufer. "I have so many guests and customers that I haven't seen in ten or 15 years, and all of a sudden, I'm seeing everybody from the past, and they all remember me and my parents. It's just so nice to be back in the neighborhood where I really started. I feel like I'm back home. It just brings back a lot of good memories."

Carrot Express Sunset Harbour Is Only the Beginning of the Expansion

Carrot Express Sunset Harbour is located at 1828 Bay Rd., Miami Beach, which is only a five-minute walk from the old Texaco gas station. Longtime customers who used to have a limited nine-sandwich menu to choose from now have a variety of bowls, salads, and sandwiches to enjoy.

The bigger and better version of Carrot Express now has a 1,571-square-foot space, compared to its crammed 250-square-foot space in the gas station. Guests can now choose to sit down for a meal inside at a communal counter, cozy booths, or two-top tables or dine outside under the signature orange umbrellas.

Sunset Harbour marks a very meaningful step for Carrot Express, which is on the road to 30 locations since its expansion to New York. Laufer tells New Times that while the fourth New York City location in Brookfield Place has already been announced, he hopes to expand rapidly in the city, adding another 30 outposts to Carrot Express' list in the next four years.

Carrot Express Sunset Harbour. 1828 Bay Rd., Miami Beach; 305-535-1379; carrotexpress.com.