NORTH MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – It seems burgers are having a moment in Miami.
From the flat-pressed, “smashed” varieties over at Ted’s Burgers and United States Burger Service, to the classic, local favorites over at Le Chick and Kush, burgers have been thriving in the Magic City.
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Now, there seems to be a new contender in the competition — meet La Birra Bar, the Buenos Aires-based burger shop founded in 2001, which is making its way to the States with its first location in North Miami Beach.
La Birra Bar will be the first Argentine hamburger chain to reach the U.S. when it opens its doors in North Miami Beach on August 16 at 6:30 p.m.
The restaurant chain, founded by family members Daniel, Roxana, and Renzo Cocchia, was created in 2001 as a cafeteria in Buenos Aires.
But what makes their spot unique? It’s their expansive menu — they serve almost 40 varieties of hamburgers and veggie burger options. Plus, they also offer ribs, pulled pork, wings, crispy chicken, nuggets, onion rings, mozzarella sticks, and french fries.
“A large part of the toppings will also be of our elaboration, such as our pickles, crispy onion, bacon, and dressings. The few remaining ingredients will be subjected to rigorous tests before being part of our product”, says Daniel Cocchia who, together with his partner Roxana and their son Renzo, are the creators of what they say is, “the perfect hamburger that made La Birra Bar a true legend.”
The Miami restaurant menu will feature the classic Criolla Burger, with bell pepper, onion, roasted tomatoes, and provolone cheese; the Monterrey, with guacamole and jalapeños; the Magumbo, with cheddar, bacon and magumbo sauce, and the Umami, with lettuce, aioli, spicy ketchup, confit tomatoes, and Milanese mozzarella.
According to the owners, they had plans to roll out their Miami location right before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, which was was put on hold. However, this was actually a blessing, as it gave them more time to perfect their grand opening in the U.S.
“The initial development of this project took place in early 2020 and was largely interrupted by the pandemic. This location would probably have been open for at least six or seven months in a normal context. Still, we did not rush and decided to give the project the necessary time so as not to cause any mistakes”, says Cocchia.
Currently, La Birra Bar has 12 locations in Argentina, and they have plans to open in Madrid before the end of the year.
Now, the new challenge for the Cocchia family is to achieve the “spirit and mystique of its Argentine stores in the US and Spain flagship restaurants,” according to the family.
La Birra Bar is located at 14831 Biscayne Blvd., North Miami Beach, FL 33181.
For more information on La Birra Bar, click here.