Three local brothers are trying to bring the “old Miami” back to the barrio. But Carlos, Alvaro and Sebastian Ortega have plans for their bodega to be so much more than your local store.
The Ortega brothers were born in Puerto Rico to Cuban parents and later moved to Miami, where they were raised.
At the start of this year, the brothers began to see some of their favorite Coconut Grove spots that they grew up with, like Lokal and Last Carrot, begin to disappear.
“Everywhere is constantly in flux,” 28-year-old Alvaro said. “And this idea of the old bohemian limestone grove with mom and pop businesses, with locally sourced ingredients and stuff like that, is no longer here to stay. It’s a dying breed.”
That’s at least what they would hear their friends and peers say. But they were still optimistic.
“Around the same time we walked in here, and it was looking like this place was also up for sale because the racks were empty and that sort of thing,” Alvaro said.
He’s talking about the former location of Fly Buy, a convenience store that sold smoothies and sandwiches, along with other necessities. After speaking with the owners of Fly Buy, the brothers banded together and bought the property.
“Really serendipitous moment where the three of us around the same time, all were all in and we were like, let’s just see how far we can take this,” Alvaro said.
At the end of April, the Ortega’s finally put their sign out front.
“Oh, this is actually happening,” Alvaro with a laugh.
Carlos laughed along with him, “We are in the business.”
But there is still a lot of work to be done inside before the old convenience store transforms into “Bodega Ortega.”
“Ultimately, we’re not seeing this as a business venture that we can then flip or sell or that sort of thing,” Alvaro said.
“We’re all in, we’re all in,” Carlos added.
“We want to be here to provide for the community. We want to grow with the community,” Alvaro said. “Like even the products that we have started stocking are because someone who was a regular customer was like, I would love to have a gluten-free option or more protein options.”
And you can see it across their social media. The brothers asked people on the street what they would like to see sold at the new store, and walked followers through the process of renovating the convenience store to become Bodega Ortega.
The brothers want their family venture to be a place in Coconut Grove that pays homage to the corner stores and well-known hotspots that came before.
“Hopefully, people can talk about it the same way that we talk about some of those places that are lost. And it’ll hopefully be one of those places that it won’t be lost where people can take their kids, [and talk about] when they started coming here as kids.”
They want to provide that sense of nostalgia, with family photos on the walls, a kids’ corner in the middle of the store, and seating outside for those who want to hang out for a while.
And while they want you to feel like you are in a place that’s been their forever, they still want to stand apart.
When you walk into the store, you see the ode to a 60’s diner feel with the colors and circular countertop shapes. But the shelves will be filled with items from local vendors in South Florida. There will be a refrigerated organic section, featuring milk, eggs and meat, also from local grocers.
For those who want traditional convenience store items, your candy and Latin grab-and-go options will be there. There will also be a sandwich counter for fresh eats. And of course, a ventanita. The brothers plan to sell cuisine of various Hispanic cultures, as well as provide gluten-free and health-conscious options.
There’s a dog section, an ice cream wall for the kids. It’s a place where everyone can shop.
“I want them to keep coming back, not just say that, you know, we’re ripping them off, or you know what I mean?” Carlos said about making prices affordable in an area. “So it’s about not only the price that we’re trying to make money, but it’s also that we want people to feel like they can afford it. It is for everybody.”
But most importantly, it’s where the Ortegas want customers to feel like family.
“We recently lost our mom this year, so we wanted to kind of … We were always looking for that belonging,” Carlos said. “You know, we were kind of looking for stability, that you get in a community and, you know, somewhere where you can walk in and feel like, you know, the guy, you can talk to him, you can tell him about your day. We’re going to listen. You know, it’s not just some guy that would ask, ‘What’s your name again?’ You know what I mean? It’s more of that connection now that we wanted to build something.”
And that’s their purpose. After creating the Te Amo Foundation in support of mental health awareness after their mother’s passing, they decided to bring the community together in another way, through their bodega.
While the road to opening has been one filled with lots of hard work, they are ready to see you at the bodega soon.