An upscale coffee chain that started with a single Broward County cafe less than two years ago is now setting its sights on South Dade. MZC South Dade LLC has filed permit applications for a new Pilar Coffee Bar location at 17405 S. Dixie Highway in Miami, placing the cafe along the Palmetto Bay corridor just south of The Falls shopping center.
No opening date has been announced yet for the Miami location, according to WhatNow, which first reported on the permit filings by MZC South Dade LLC with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. The South Dixie Highway address sits in a stretch of US-1 known for major retail and shopping hubs, according to The Collection.
Pilar Coffee Bar opened its flagship cafe at The Cove in Deerfield Beach in December 2024, per the same WhatNow report, and the brand currently lists two open locations according to its company website: the Deerfield Beach flagship and a location in Roslyn, New York. The Miami cafe would join a growing list of coming-soon locations the company has already announced for Coral Springs, Delray Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Aurora, Colorado, and Long Island, per WhatNow's reporting.
A Fast-Moving Franchise With Broward Roots
The company's growth ambitions extend well beyond South Florida. Pilar Coffee Bar aims to open 11 franchised locations across Florida, New York, and Colorado by the end of 2027, according to corporate growth plans reported by Browardist. That expansion has already produced results outside Florida: the brand opened its first out-of-state location in July in Roslyn Heights, New York, occupying a 2,500-square-foot space at the Bryant Plaza development, the station's report notes.
The company is led by Steve Giordanella, a franchise industry veteran who founded Pilar Coffee Bar, according to WhatNow. Giordanella is also the founder and CEO of I Heart Mac & Cheese, a South Florida-founded fast-casual chain that expanded to 30 locations nationwide, per Pilar Coffee Bar's own announcement. Hoodline previously reported on the founder's mac and cheese franchise in its College Hill closure coverage.
Sit-Down Cafes, No Drive-Thru
Pilar deliberately skips the drive-thru window that has become standard at many national coffee chains. Giordanella said in March that Pilar intentionally omits drive-thru windows because all food items are prepared fresh to order rather than microwaved, according to Greater Long Island. He framed the concept as filling a gap left as chains like Starbucks pivoted toward mobile pickup and drive-thrus, aiming instead to create a relaxed, sit-down hangout space, the outlet reported.
The menu at Pilar goes well beyond espresso. According to WhatNow, the coffee bar serves espresso, cappuccino, cortado, cold brew, and iced coffee made from its signature blend, along with tea, matcha, and chocolate drinks. Specialty options include a honey cinnamon latte, biscoff butter cookie latte, Dubai pistachio latte, and raspberry matcha bliss, WhatNow reports, and the chain markets itself as an upscale, all-day coffee bar.
Beyond drinks, Pilar's food program includes avocado toast at $9.95, bacon-egg-and-cheese croissants, muffulettas at $12.95, hot honey chicken at $13.95, flatbreads, and artisanal gelato, according to Newsday. The company sources its espresso and brewed drinks from hand-picked beans cultivated at high altitudes in the highlands of Brazil and Colombia, per the brand's own materials.
Origin of the Name
The brand's name carries a personal story. The name Pilar was inspired by the middle name of Giordanella's wife, according to reporting by The Long Island Times. Pilar is also headquartered in Boca Raton under corporate parent ABC Franchise Group LLC, which was incorporated in Florida in April 2025.
For now, South Dade residents will have to wait for a firm timeline. With permits filed but no opening date set, the Palmetto Bay-area cafe remains one piece of a rapidly expanding footprint that already stretches from Deerfield Beach to Roslyn, New York, with more locations on the way across Florida, New York, and Colorado.
