Food halls – large spaces with various food stations and a common dining area – are the new food courts. These include 1-800-LUCKY in Wynwood, Jackson Hall in Miami, St. Roch in the Design District, La Centrale and Casa Tua Cucina in Brickell, plus more in the works.
And coming soon to South Miami’s Sunset Place – Yumbrella, a name familiar to old-timers like Steve Haas, restaurant veteran and Miami Spice founder. “Wasn’t that the first food hall?” he recalled recently. Located on Red Road just north of US One, the Yumbrella debuted in the 1970s, featuring seven different restaurants under one roof – Chinese, soul food, Italian, Hispanic, American, German and a dessert place called Sugar Shack where you could get brownie a la made for 30 cents. The original location went through a few other incarnations, including Club Manhattan and a real estate school, before it was torn down to make way for Red Road Commons apartments and retail.
Steve Simon
Heading the new Yumbrella is food truck organizer and restaurateur Steve Simon, who has a connection to the old business. “My father had Casa Caliente, The Horn & Tail and Wienerstadt,” three of the seven stations at the original food court. Looking to create a “homegrown food hall,” Simon is taking over the former Brother Jimmy’s at Sunset Place, a 6,500-sq-ft space that will give him room for six restaurants, a shared kitchen and a full bar, plus seating inside and outside. One of those restaurants will be his own Killer Melts, a food truck and brick-and-mortar in Kendall. Another is King of Racks BBQ, a food truck at The Wharf. He’s talking to other restaurant folks to fill the other spaces.
Old Yumbrella ad (archives)
Simon figures it will take six to eight weeks to revamp the new Yumbrella, which he’s hoping will attract UM students and locals looking for food and drink choices. He’s adapted the old logo and set up a Facebook page.
“I’m born and raised in South Miami, so it’s kind of a nod to the original,” he says. “I was only two years ago [when the original Yumbrella was open], but I’ve always heard the stories.”
One thing that’s unlikely to come back – lunch specials for under a dollar, like crabmeat supreme with a potato pancake. Which is probably a good thing.
YUMBRELLA FOOD HALL
Sunset Place
5701 Sunset Dr., South Miami
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