MICHAEL SCHWARTZ OPENS ella Cafe IN THE DESIGN DISTRICT
The Genuine Hospitality Group and chef-owner Michael Schwartz are pleased to announce the opening of ella cafe, a café popping up this week in the Design District’s Palm Court and open through spring and summer. Named after Schwartz’s eldest daughter, ella is a light and simple spot serving breakfast, lunch, and late afternoon food and drink accessible to locals, shoppers and visitors to the neighborhood. The café is the first time The Genuine Hospitality Group offers breakfast in the Design District.
“ella is beautiful just like the real Ella and the best part is we’ve worked together on it!” says Schwartz. “We wanted an easy place in the neighborhood, something not full service but that covered all the bases. It’s a spot to grab a coffee and avocado toast on True Loaf bakery wheat on the way to work, or a glass of late afternoon rosé with the day’s selection of salumi and cheese from the butcher’s board. That’s what I’d do!”
Greet the morning with the day’s True Loaf baked goods on the counter, 9 Grain Pancakes |$9| with organic maple syrup, Breakfast Sandwich |$9| with bacon, egg & cheese on a Bay’s English muffin, and Power Breakfast |$12| with Greek yogurt, chia jelly, banana, blueberries, granola, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, dried mulberries – all served until 11am. Avocado Toast |$9| on True Loaf wheat and Beet-Cured Wild Salmon & Homemade Everything Bagel |$14| with cream cheese, red onion, heirloom tomato, capers are served all day long. After 11am, Today’s Soup |PA|, Rock Shrimp Summer Roll |$14| with crushed peanuts, nuoc cham, and Local Fish Escabeche |$13| with avocado are refreshingly light and clean.
Make a healthy and hearty meal of the Rotisserie Chicken |$17| with hemp seed pesto, green salad. Satisfying vegetarian dishes include Vegetable Tacos |$11| with black beans, avocado, pickled onion, cilantro, cotija cheese on a hand-ground Taquiza blue masa tortilla, Heirloom Tomato Salad |$13| with feta, pickled onions, chermoula vinaigrette, Shaved & Roasted Vegetable Salad |$13| with orange, farro, pumpkin seeds, Meyer lemon vinaigrette, or even the indulgent Parmigiano-Crusted Grilled Cheese |$12| with caramelized onions, tomato jam. The café serves fresh-squeezed orange juice, Panther Coffee, Art of Tea, bottled cider and beer including Chef’s Michael’s Genuine® Home Brew, and a selection of wines by the glass and bottle including the house Lua Rossa blend.
“I’m really excited for this project,” says Ella Schwartz, Michael’s daughter and intern at The Genuine Hospitality Group. “The aesthetic of the café really reflects my personal style, especially the use of white and light blue – my favorite color. I’ve been working on translating this light and airy look online, shooting Polaroid images to populate its website and Instagram.”
Schwartz designed the light and airy space with Enrique René González of Gonzalez Architecture. Soft, sky blue lamps hang over the café’s inside counter featuring daily baked items, a chalkboard menu wall to the back above an open kitchen, butcher paper roll with the daily charcuterie and cheese selection, and lots of light washing the plaza’s palm tree landscape through its façade. González conceived a wood lattice structure suspended from the ceiling at an angle to draw the eye in and break up its two-story elevation. Working directly with Schwartz gave the design a little more soul, with a focus on redefining very simple light materials to create an inviting color palette – green herbs, relaxing blonde maple, and light blue ceiling. Art from Craig Robins’ personal collection hangs to the south with a poem on the wall to the north.
ella is located in the Design District’s Palm Court, 140 NE 39th Street, Space 136 and will be open from 9am to 7pm on Monday to Saturday and 12pm to 5pm on Sunday. There is indoor counter seating for 8 and seating outdoors for up to 40 with umbrella-shaded tables and potted herbs and succulents. ella offers takeout and will accept all major credit cards. In addition to street parking, the Design District offers valet from $5 located at the entrance to Palm Court on 39th Street in between NE 1st and NE 2nd Ave and the Palm Court Parking Garage is open from 9 am to 9pm Monday-Saturday and 11am – 7pm on Sunday, $3 for the first 4 hours, $6 for 4-6 hours, and $25 for 6+ hours, with the entrance located on NE 38th St. For more information, visit ellapop.me or follow the café on Instagram and Twitter @ellapopmiami.