Argentina’s Alex Coffee Roasters Feels Right at Home in Brooklyn and Miami

The new Alex Coffee Roasters shop in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood. All images courtesy of Alex Coffee Roasters.

A specialty coffee concept under the name Alex Coffee Roasters has boomeranged from the United States to Argentina and back again, with two new shops recently opened in Brooklyn, New York, and Miami.

In Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood, the first U.S. location of the Buenos Aires-based company opened with wood floors, brick walls and a concrete bar, atop which stands a black La Marzocco Strada espresso machine with wooden side panels.

A corner location in North Williamsburg, Brooklyn, that opened later in October maintains some of the maritime vibes established by its previous occupant, a seafood restaurant called Rosarito Fish Shack.

“Alex is meant to be a warm place where anyone feels a part of the experience,” Alex Coffee founder and CEO Juan Ignacio Ferrari told Daily Coffee News. “When you visit Alex, you are not just a guest, you are part of the whole environment. You’ll find the same magic in any of Alex’s coffee stores.”

Named after a family doberman, the company enthusiastically emphasizes the pet-friendliness of all locations.

“When I visited the U.S. searching for ideas, we saw some brands using animals in their logos,” Ferrari said, “so we remembered and wanted to honor Alex the dog.”

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Ferrari, an Argentine entrepreneur and navy veteran, discovered the well-developed specialty coffee market in the U.S. while traveling here in 2016, and felt inspired to try the model at home in Argentina.

Five years later, Alex Coffee has grown in Buenos Aires to include three company-opened stores and two franchise locations, all serving coffees roasted locally at Alex’s wholesale roastery.

The in-house baking operation supplying Alex’s Buenos Aires cafes with fresh pastries and breads was quickly spun off into a separate company called Brooklyn Bakery, which continues to supply the Alex shops after having been sold to a third party during the pandemic.

Additional Alex Coffee cafes are planned for Argentina, the United States and eventually Europe.

“We are now focused on our biggest goal for the 2022, first [quarter]: opening our own roaster in Miami,” said Ferrari. “This roaster will not only supply our own stores, but will let us also expand our coffee [sales] for restaurants.”

Alex Coffee Roasters Brooklyn is located at 168 Wythe Ave in Brooklyn. Alex Coffee roasters Wynwood is located at 51 NE 24th St in Miami. Tell us about your new coffee shop or roastery here.