MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – David's Cafe was the place on Miami Beach to enjoy a pastelito and spot a gathering of local politicians. Its original location closed in April. Now, David's is slated to make a comeback.
Its new incarnation is a smaller cafe on Alton Road, where a pair of sushi restaurants once operated.
Owner Adrian Gonzalez said he couldn't stay away from the restaurant business after he and his family sold the building where David's served customers for more than three decades.
He was on Alton Road with his wife when he spotted the "For Lease" sign on what was Avila Tei restaurant on Ninth Street.
"We looked at it and we said, 'This is like a gem in the rough,'" Gonzalez said.
The new digs will be transformed into a smaller, more intimate version of the David's on Collins Avenue. Gonzalez said the new name reflects that: David's Cafe Cafecito. He said the new cafe will reflect the intimate spirit of the restaurant his parents first opened in 1977.
There will be a walk-up window on the south side of the building -- a "hang-out area" -- and an L-shaped bar inside, Gonzalez said. He also said a plan to develop a "David's" brew of coffee is in the works.
Gonzalez said the obstacles of owning a restaurant have not deterred him.
Several years ago employees of David's Cafe II, the cafe's second location off Lincoln Road, accused him of withholding tens of thousand of dollars in wages.
"That has been settled," Gonzalez said.
David's Cafe II closed in 2012. Gonzalez said rent had skyrocketed.
"Rent is beyond insane back when we were there and it's gotten three times worse now. I mean, places are closing daily over there," Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez said he thinks Alton Road will be the new hub for mom-and-pop shops and restaurants like his. He credits his closely knit family for his success and work ethic.
When Local 10 caught up with Gonzalez this week, he was hauling trash into the dumpster behind the building and working on the now-gutted building's design.
"This is going to be a watering hole for the locals to just come and drink coffee and do what we did originally, the reason why we started," he said.
David's Cafe Cafecito is scheduled to open sometime in late December or early January at 919 Alton Road.