Forget Publix. This Miami Beach neighborhood just got a gourmet market

At their North Beach restaurant Silverlake Bistro, Sandy Sanchez and Benoit Rablat field a lot of questions about the ingredients and products they use and how to get them.

Now, you can buy them just a couple of blocks away from the restaurant at the couple’s brand-new wine shop and market Normandy Gourmandy, now open on Normandy Isle across from the fountain.

Sanchez, who is also the proprietor of the French Bistro La Fresa Francesa in Hialeah, says the market is, “like everything we do,” a passion project.

“We always start with what we see as a need in the neighborhood, and this is our neighborhood,” she says. “It’s a great opportunity to feature things we use in the restaurants.”

The market will feature everything from Japanese salts to French cookies and chocolates, from sauces and dried Italian pasta to caviar. There are culinary-related gifts like cheeseboards, cheese knives and wine glasses. The shop will also sell wine and offer tastings with various wine vendors (Sanchez promises cheese tastings, too).

“At both restaurants, we love to have wines that people will not usually have,” she says. “We want strange grape varietals, things that create a conversation whether you’re purchasing it to take to a party or have at home.”

The market will also feature grab-and-go sandwiches and other items, a plan set in motion during the weekend’s soft opening when customers were scouring the refrigerators for sandwiches.

Sanchez says there are plans in the work to start bottling some of her husband’s famous French onion soup as well, and says they plan to start a subscription club where guests get a box of food or food and wine every month delivered to their homes. They’re also planning to be on one of the delivery apps.

Sanchez thinks of Normandy Gourmandy as a community-oriented spot.

“It’s not just a place to shop,” she says. “It’s interactive. You can taste and talk to the staff and us about food and wine.”

Normandy Gourmandy

Where: 932 71st St., Miami Beach

Hours: Noon-9 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday

Information: 786-536-2334

This story was originally published July 19, 2023 at 4:30 AM.