A Miami-based Colombian restaurant chain famous for building towering, multi-tiered platters of traditional food is opening its first Broward County location this weekend. El Machetico will debut at 207 N. Hiatus Road in Pembroke Pines on Saturday, August 15, running from 12:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., after an opening process that stretched on for months.
The restaurant announced its Broward expansion in an Instagram post on August 6, according to Miami Herald reporter Isabel Rivera. El Machetico is a Miami-based Latin chain that serves larger-than-life takes on traditional Colombian dishes, and the Pembroke Pines spot marks its first venture outside Miami-Dade County. The brand was founded by chef and owner Juan Camilo Dueñas, known to fans as Chef JC, who has spent more than 18 years cooking in South Florida kitchens and built the concept from its original Doral storefront into a growing regional operation, according to a report from TuBarco.
What Made El Machetico Go Viral
The chain's reputation rests on showstopping presentations that dwarf typical restaurant portions. Its menu includes a three-tiered Bandeja Paisa, a four-tiered Bandeja Paisa XL built to feed six people, a two-tiered Sancocho soup, and a chicharrón, or fried pork belly, that stretches three feet long, according to TULIO Recomienda. Those social-media-ready dishes have helped turn the brand into a South Florida sensation since it first opened in Doral, before adding a second Miami location at 3399 NW 72nd Ave.
Beyond its dining rooms, El Machetico also runs a weekly meal subscription service called La Cantina, which offers five traditional Colombian lunches for $55, along with corporate catering across South Florida, per the same TuBarco report. The subscription model targets workers and families looking for affordable homestyle meals during the week, filling out a business built as much on convenience as on spectacle.
A Storefront With Its Own History
The Pembroke Pines space El Machetico is moving into was formerly occupied by Brandon's Bistro, a Black-owned soul food and brunch spot. Brandon's Bistro relocated to Miramar Town Center after securing a 10-year lease there, a move the Miami Herald reported was announced in late April, though city records show the Miramar City Commission approved the 3,800-square-foot retail lease for Brandon's Bistro Pines LLC at 11755 City Hall Promenade back in March 2025, according to the City of Miramar.
State records show El Machetico's build-out at the Hiatus Road address was already under regulatory review well before its public debut. Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation inspection activity for the unit, listed as 207 N. Hiatus Road #101, was logged as early as January 14, 2026, according to health and safety filings, since Florida law requires food service establishments to complete DBPR inspections before opening to the public. The monthslong gap between that early paperwork and the announced August opening lines up with the delay the Miami Herald's report described.
Why Pembroke Pines, Why Now
The move into Pembroke Pines lands in a city with a population exceeding 171,000 and a Hispanic majority estimated between 45% and 58%, making it one of the largest Hispanic markets in Broward County, according to the Pembroke Pines city government. Broward County overall is home to an estimated 620,000 Hispanic residents, with Colombians counted among the county's top three largest Hispanic ancestry groups alongside Cubans and Puerto Ricans, per Broward County demographic reports.
The new location sits along a busy stretch of the Hiatus Road corridor, a suburban commercial strip near major residential communities including The Landings at Pembroke Lakes and shopping destinations like Pembroke Lakes Mall, according to Realtor.com. That kind of high-traffic suburban setting, paired with a large and established Colombian American customer base, gives the chain a built-in audience as it tests its brand outside its original Miami-Dade footprint for the first time.
