Babe's Meat & Counter, the Palmetto Bay butcher-and-sandwich shop that’s become a South Dade staple, just got a serious upgrade. The family-run spot expanded its storefront this week, rolling out new indoor seating and carving out more room for both its sandwich kitchen and butcher counter. What was once mostly a grab-and-go pickup counter now doubles as a laid-back sit-down joint for cheeseburgers, poutine and the house-made sandwiches regulars obsess over.
As reported by Miami New Times, owners Jason and Melanie Schoendorfer have enlarged their Palmetto Bay location to add roughly 40 seats, expand the butcher counter and make space for more local products. The same report credits chef Mike Leon with running the kitchen, baker Katherine Alvarez with turning out the shop’s pastries and manager Eric Cordo with keeping the front-of-house flow under control.
From Farmers Market To Neighborhood Staple
The Schoendorfers’ slow climb from Pinecrest Gardens farmers market vendors to full-time butchers has been chronicled by StarChefs, which details their early experiments with sausage, bacon and crafted sandwiches. That gradual buildout helped Babe’s Meat & Counter ride out pandemic supply shocks and, over time, lock in a fiercely loyal local following.
Menu Hits And National Spotlight
The shop’s signature Babe’s Burger, a fresh-ground blend of prime and Wagyu beef, has been singled out in local coverage, with CBS Miami highlighting the custom blend. The burger also landed the shop a slot on Good Morning America's burger competition.
The business was later named Best Burger in Miami’s annual roundup, a recognition listed in Miami New Times' Best Of coverage, which helped fuel demand for more seats and nudged the owners toward this latest expansion.
What The Expansion Means Locally
The extra seating is part of a broader, low-key trend of butcher-counter operations evolving into casual dining hangouts, a shift noted in industry profiles like StarChefs. For Palmetto Bay regulars, the makeover should mean shorter lines, a real place to sit and linger and the same no-frills focus on quality meats and sandwiches that put Babe’s on the South Dade map in the first place.
