A Cuban cafe is in the works for the ground floor of a residential building along South Dixie Highway in Pompano Beach, taking over a space once occupied by a coffee shop that served pastries. The proposed eatery would sit at 1621 South Dixie Highway, Unit 117, inside the base of the building near South Dixie Highway and West McNab Road, in an area described as mostly residential.
The cafe, whose listed owner is Genesis Rios, has received an application but has no announced opening date, according to WhatNow. The outlet reports the business will occupy the former Surreala Coffee space and may offer sandwiches along with coffees and teas. Rios was unavailable for comment, and the cafe currently has no social media accounts or website, per the same report.
A Building Built From a Junkyard
The address sits on the ground floor of Aviara East Pompano, a 228-unit, two-building apartment complex spanning 5.13 acres that was developed by Delray Beach-based MAG Real Estate & Development, according to The Real Deal. Before the redevelopment, the site operated as an auto scrapyard and storage lot; MAG Real Estate acquired the land in 2017 for $2.1 million and secured city rezoning approval two years later, the outlet notes.
The project reached a major financial milestone in July 2024, when MAG Real Estate secured a $71 million refinancing loan from Madison Realty Capital and SteepRock Capital, according to Commercial Observer. That report states construction wrapped and leasing began on the 228 apartments and 10,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space in spring 2024. Florida corporate filings on Sunbiz.org show the site owner entity, 1621 S Dixie Holding LLC, and project entity Aviara Florida, Inc. both operate out of the address under registered manager Maher Hanna, the founder of MAG Real Estate & Development.
A Neighborhood With Built-In Demand
Pompano Beach's demographics suggest a receptive audience for a Cuban concept. U.S. Census Bureau estimates from its 2020–2024 American Community Survey show roughly 24.9% of the city's 114,147 residents identify as Hispanic or Latino, and 34.0% of the population was born outside the United States.
The cafe would also land squarely within a corridor undergoing broader transformation. Pompano Beach and its Community Redevelopment Agency are pushing a multi-billion-dollar New Downtown master plan along Dixie Highway that includes a new city hall campus at 125 Dixie Highway. Just north along the same stretch, Pompano Beach has also seen filings for a 167,000-square-foot Costco store paired with a 132-unit apartment project as part of the nearby “The Pomp” master plan, reflecting the area's commercial and residential momentum.
Regulatory Steps and Nearby Competition
Before the cafe can open, it will need to clear a food service plan review and safety inspections through the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, along with a local Business Tax Receipt and Zoning Use Certificate from the City of Pompano Beach, per Open MyFlorida Business guidance for restaurants and eating places in the city.
The proposed cafe wouldn't be starting from scratch in terms of neighborhood foot traffic. Amy's Fresh Bakery & Bistro sits across the street, and Bagel Snack, a longtime local fixture, was voted South Florida's top deli in a May reader poll. The corridor has also drawn recent attention for less appetizing reasons, including a shooting investigation this month at a Marathon gas station at 220 South Dixie Highway, underscoring that development along the strip is proceeding alongside ongoing public safety concerns.
For now, the cafe remains a proposal without a confirmed name beyond its address, a finalized menu, or a timeline for opening. With Rios unreachable for comment and no social presence established, residents of Aviara East Pompano and the surrounding blocks will likely need to wait for permits and inspections to clear before finding out what, exactly, is brewing at the corner of South Dixie Highway and West McNab Road.
