After 45 years feeding downtown Miami’s workers, this lunch counter is closing
On a busy street in downtown Miami, as horns blare, cars weave past buses discharging passengers and delivery robots bump along the sidewalk, Las Palmas restaurant feeds Miami at an open-air counter.
There are only 33 seats, but that doesn’t stop regulars. Patrons grab coladas and cortaditos to kick-start their mornings, while others wolf down breakfast platters for sustenance or arrive on their lunch breaks for pan con bistec or Cuban sandwiches, maybe a burger or palomilla steak.
But now after 45 years, the Latin American spot at 209 SE First St. is closing, taking with it a disappearing part of Miami culinary culture: the low-key, inexpensive mom-and-pop restaurant that has become a gathering spot for a community.
Most recently, that community has been largely Brazilian, according to owner Mario Ferrari Magalhaes, who runs Las Palmas with his mother Carla.
“It has been a communal Brazilian meeting point to hear the gossip and talk of the town,” he said. “But it’s not pretentious or fancy. It’s the kind of place where you see people from every walk of life.”
The restaurant has had different owners over the years, and the Magalhaes family bought it in 2016, when Mario’s father learned he had metastatic cancer and wanted a solid business to support his wife and son when he was gone. The Brazilian-born Magalhaeses had operated a travel agency in downtown Miami for more than 30 years, but by 2008, that business had started to struggle.
Mario Ferrari Magalhaes remembers his dad taking him to the restaurant long before he had any idea he’d one day own it.
“As a kid, I remember we’d do rounds on the weekend or after school, and my dad would take me to the bank, and we’d stop at Las Palmas,” he said. “When we finally bought the restaurant, it was a machine, running well and making good money. My dad thought my mom and I could work here, and we would be fine after his passing.”
Las Palmas has had the usual share of ups and downs but came through the COVID pandemic intact. Magalhaes also brought nighttime activations to the small space, producing comedy shows and even hosting a couple of Winter Music Conference parties.
But 2025 brought huge increases in the price of everything from meat to eggs and changes in trade policies and tariffs that weren’t advantageous to a mom-and-pop business. Add to that this year’s brutal summer, during which many restaurants reported a significant decrease in customers, and Magalhaes fell behind in rent payments.
He cut costs, laying off servers and raising prices, but a sandwich shop can only raise its prices so high. Closing, he decided, was the only thing to do. The restaurant closes Friday, Nov. 14, for good.
Ironically, business has picked up in the past couple of weeks — “the last three weeks I’ve been seeing record daily sales,” he said — but the bump is too little, too late.
Customers Mari Acero and William Cormier, who work at Club Space’s offices across the street, are sorry to see Las Palmas go.
“We’ve been coming here long enough to know how much it sucks that it’s going,” Cormier said. “We’re here every other morning.”
Acero said she has been coming daily since she heard the restaurant was closing.
“It’s very intimate and family owned,” she said. “There are not a lot of places like this down here anymore.”
Carla Ferrari Magalhaes, who is 65, said she isn’t sad about the closing and is going to take some time to think about her next step. First, though, maybe some travel, maybe a cruise.
“I have good memories of this place, and I made a lot of friends,” she said. “I’ll miss downtown. I’ve been down here more than 35 years, and I love downtown. But I’m tired! And my son has to make his own life.”
This story was originally published November 10, 2025 at 4:30 AM.