Food

Epicure Market will soon be down to one location in South Florida

By Miami Herald
Arthur Ford, a produce manager at Epicure in Sunny Isles Beach, Ford was part of the working class who lives on the beach and works in Sunny Isles, a perennial playground for jet setters and the like.
Arthur Ford, a produce manager at Epicure in Sunny Isles Beach, Ford was part of the working class who lives on the beach and works in Sunny Isles, a perennial playground for jet setters and the like. Peter Andrew Bosch

Epicure Gourmet Market & Cafe will close its Sunny Isles Beach store at at 17190 Collins Ave. this month after nearly 10 years in business — leaving only the original Epicure Market in Miami Beach after an expansion effort in Miami-Dade failed to take hold.

The Sunny Isles Beach store opened in 2008, followed by a location in Coral Gables in 2013. The Coral Gables store closed in June 2015 after struggling to find its customer base. The original Epicure opened in 1945 at 1656 Alton Rd. in Miami Beach.

Epicure’s Sunny Isles Beach market replaced the legendary Rascal House — considered among the last of Miami-Dade’s old-school New York-style delis and built by the restaurateur Wolfie Cohen in 1954.

The Rascal House was a dining destination in the area for decades, serving oversized portions and staffed by no-nonsense waitresses who labored amid a decor seemingly frozen in time with black and white photos of Jackie Gleason and wooden counters and booths.

In 1996, Cohen sold the Rascal House to the Starkman family — father Isaac and brothers Guy and Jason — who kept the restaurant running until 2008, when they converted it into an Epicure market.

Read more here: http://hrld.us/2mLPlIs

  • The Epicure Market in Sunny Isles Beach serves cocktails at an inside bar. The store's sale of packaged liquor - which includes bottles of spirits - was the subject of debate at a commission meeting. CHRIS CUTRO / FOR THE MIAMI HERALD
    The Epicure Market in Sunny Isles Beach serves cocktails at an inside bar. The store's sale of packaged liquor - which includes bottles of spirits - was the subject of debate at a commission meeting. CHRIS CUTRO / FOR THE MIAMI HERALD CHRIS CUTRO / FOR THE MAIMI HERA
  • Russian transplants Mariya Manzon, 24, and Steve Manzon, 33, try to decide between wine or vodka at the Epicure Market - which replaced the landmark Rascal House in Sunny Isles Beach. CHRIS CUTRO / FOR THE MIAMI HERALD.
    Russian transplants Mariya Manzon, 24, and Steve Manzon, 33, try to decide between wine or vodka at the Epicure Market - which replaced the landmark Rascal House in Sunny Isles Beach. CHRIS CUTRO / FOR THE MIAMI HERALD. CHRIS CUTRO / FOR THE MAIMI HERA
  • The changing times in Sunny Isles Beach is reflected by Liam Dunagan, 6, who searches for his favorite treat at the Epicure Market in Sunny Isles Beach. CHRIS CUTRO / FOR THE MIAMI HERALD.
    The changing times in Sunny Isles Beach is reflected by Liam Dunagan, 6, who searches for his favorite treat at the Epicure Market in Sunny Isles Beach. CHRIS CUTRO / FOR THE MIAMI HERALD. CHRIS CUTRO / FOR THE MAIMI HERA

This story was originally published March 21, 2017 at 7:03 AM.

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