Frustrated with supermarkets and delivery apps, Miami shoppers turn to local options
Publix is packed. Sedano’s, swamped.
While grocery stores hustle to keep high-demand items in stock and shoppers inch their way through lines six feet apart, some are finding new ways to shop for groceries while avoiding the coronavirus.
Some are ordering meats, eggs and cold cuts directly from distributors that once only sold to restaurants, grocery stores or specialty markets. Others are supplementing their fresh produce from local farms that deliver or offer pick-up sites where workers drop bags into their trunks to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19. And some restaurants even have flipped their model to sell groceries from their purveyors and ready-to-heat meals directly to shoppers — offering delivery and pick up.
Even as most grocery stores, from locals like Sedano’s and Milam’s to Fresh Market and Whole Foods, now offer scheduled pickups or delivery through Shipt or Instacart, here are some new options shoppers are using to keep their pantries and refrigerators stocked.
Farm Stores
The original drive-through grocery store, Farm Stores, known to Latins as la vaquita for the “little cow” in its logo, have worked quietly to rebrand over the last few years to include many more items than you might expect, including beer and wine. You’ll find everything from your morning café con leche to fresh-baked Cuban bread, cheese-stuffed tequeños, cachitos, arepas de choclo, empanadas and flan. And you don’t have to leave your car. They even carry toilet paper.
Hours and location info: FarmStores.com
Graziano’s
This mom-and-pop market became an empire built on their Argentine food and wine. Now everything from their famous empanadas to ready-to-cook Milanese steak to prime cuts of beef are available online for pickup or delivery on its online store.
Little River Cooperative
This group usually builds edible gardens and farms their urban area directly for many Miami restaurants. Now, they are offering a weekly box of freshly harvested produce from French Farms or you can build your own box from what is available. Even if a box shows as sold out, enter your email address and you’ll be notified when your box is available. Cost: $36 per box. Pickup is from an unmanned cooler.
Mercato
This online company works with excellent local butcher shops and markets, from Miami Shores’ Proper Sausage to Palmetto Bay’s Babe’s Meat & Counter, to deliver fresh produce, dairy, deli meats, fish and meats. Delivery prices vary by shop.
Miami Food Co.
This is another option for the Costco and BJ’s crowd. This local company has partnered with distributors to sell large quantities of meat and seafood that were destined for Miami’s shuttered restaurants. The items are sold in cases of 10-20 pounds of meats for those with the storage space to accommodate it.
Miamifood.co (Note: no ‘M’ at the end of the link)
Miami Purveyors
Once providers that solely to restaurants, butcher shops and grocery stores, they have now opened an online retail store for their meat boxes, ranging form 45-day aged steaks to boxes of whole chicken.
Primeline
Another company that sold high-end ingredients — from De Cecco pasta to Prosciutto Di Parma to Lavazza coffee — to restaurants and specialty shops now is selling directly to customers. Next-day delivery is available in South Florida.
Mima Market
This Miami Shores spot rounds up locally sourced food and drinks from independent artisans in one spot. They have an online store with everything from produce bags from Magic City Gardens to craft beer. They are open for pick up and delivery.
305-751-4300
Restaurants turned grocery stores
All Day
The downtown specialty coffee shop and restaurant, which has been known for using top-quality ingredients, is now offering its products as groceries, from locally raised eggs and chicken to fruits and vegetables, fresh juices and its specialty whole-bean coffee.
Chug’s
The Cuban-American diner that thought to put peanut butter and jelly in pastelitos is now also a bodega, offering everything from flour to fresh produce from farms such as Bee Heaven Farm and Borek Farms. A menu of items available is posted daily on Instagram. Credit card payments in advance are encouraged.
Threefold Cafe
This favorite among locals, a three-restaurant chain, has pivoted to selling groceries, cooked family meals and read-to-eat meals online. They call themselves a “safer, cheaper, faster, more convenient, and more sustainable way to order all your groceries and food.” They have an extensive list of groceries but also offer you the option of emailing them your grocery list. They will email back with a quote. Next-day pickup or delivery is available.
305-704-8007
The Chefs’ Warehouse
This national company has been selling high-quality ingredients to some of the country’s top chefs, from Nancy Silverton to José Andrés, and they have a foothold among South Florida’s best restaurants. For the first time ever, they are selling directly to customers and offering home delivery. Their encyclopedic menu ranges from heads of garlic to filet minon. Orders placed by noon will be delivered the next day, Monday through Friday.
Tiny Farm
This one-acre farm regularly operates as community-supported agriculture, where you pay an upfront fee before the growing season and you get a weekly box of whatever they’re growing. (You can also make requests.) Now they are selling much of their produce online. Their web store allows for Saturday pickups or deliveries for a fee.
https://www.tinyfarmmiami.com/
Urban Oasis Project
This farmer’s market has gone online. That means you can now buy from dozens of local vendors, farmers and ranchers — everything from spices to local vegetables, eggs and meats. Products and availability change weekly. They double SNAP benefits.
Their online store opens Wednesday from 9 a.m. to Thursday at 9 p.m. for weekend orders. It reopens Friday from 10 a.m. to Sunday at 8 p.m. for Monday orders. Several pick up sites are available, and delivery in Miami-Dade County costs $10.
http://www.urbanoasisproject.org/
Are you using a company we haven’t listed to supplement your weekly groceries? Email us and let us know.
This story was originally published April 15, 2020 at 2:40 PM.
