The Miami-famous food truck that sold bagels at a Wynwood brewery is now a restaurant
El Bagel the restaurant is ready for business.
The Miami-famous food truck, which drew long lines of bagel lovers to Boxelder Craft Beer Market in Wynwood every Saturday morning, has opened the doors to its first restaurant on Biscayne Boulevard in the MiMo district.
The restaurant announced the news on its Instagram account with a plea and a thank you:
“Please cut the crew some slack while they adjust to life outside of a truck,” the post read. “Thank you Miami for all the help along the way.”
The new shop is 1,200 square feet, with indoor and outdoor seating. In addition to bagels, it sells lox and cream cheese and has eight different bagel sandwiches on the menu, plus coffee. There are plans to add side items and pastries to the menu after this week’s soft opening. Hours are 9 a.m.-1 p.m.; starting March 8, they’ll shift to the regular hours of 8 a.m.-2 p.m.
Owner Matteson Koche says he’s “tired but happy” since the shop opened March 1.
“It’s nothing short of amazing after working out of a truck for two years,” he says. “We have air-conditioning and a bathroom! Places to stand. And we have a lot more space in the kitchen to work. . . . I don’t have any past experience opening a restaurant, but so far it seems pretty smooth..”
The fate of the famous El Bagel truck is still undecided, Koche says, but for now he’s not getting rid of it.
“There’s something special about that truck,” he says. “The employees and the customers love it. We have a great partnership with Boxelder that we may or may not resume. But we’re focusing on the shop right now.”
El Bagel
Where: 6910 Biscayne Blvd, Miami
Hours: 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Wednesday-Monday starting March 8; closed Tuesdays
This story was originally published March 4, 2020 at 9:33 AM.