Located about ten minutes by car from the University of Miami’s Coral Gables campus, Madruga Bakery is a hot spot among Canes and local community members alike. But how exactly did the bakery become so popular, and why do Canes keep going back for more? From delicious coffee to mouth-watering pastries, Madruga’s tasty treats will leave you begging for another bite or drop.
In Spanish “madrugar” means to rise early. And at Madruga Bakery, where the aroma of freshly baked bread is synonymous with sunrise, that’s just what employees do.
“As bakers we come in at four in the morning,” said Madruga co-owner Naomi Alvino. “The name just made sense.”
The bakery attracts loyal customers, many of whom are University of Miami students, faculty and staff, who join early-morning queues for their favorite pastry and caffeine fix.
Katia Gelbstein, a junior biochemistry major who lives in Key Biscayne, frequents the bakery on weekends. Madruga is one of the best bakeries in the area, she said.
“I’d say Madruga was a good nine out of ten,” said Gelbstein, who likes to pair an egg sandwich with a matcha latte. “I’d take off a point due to it being insanely packed. Still, they were so quick with my order, and I never have problems.”
Providing great customer service is a priority to Alvino, who launched Madruga in 2017 with her father, Larry Harris. Larry and his brother, Stuart Harris, started Pollo Tropical in 1988. They sold the chicken chain, which specializes in Latin-Caribbean cuisine, in 1998. It seems as if a knack for a good food runs in the family.
“Opening up, it was great to have his knowledge and his connections,” Alvino said of her dad. “He was born and raised here as well, so we have a lot of community around, which was really great for getting the bakery off the ground. I think it’s very rare to still have a family business, so that’s really amazing to have that support and have that relationship.”
Alvino brings her own baking and business talents to Madruga. She began baking in high school, making small challah bread loaves with her B’nai B’rith Youth Organization. She continued baking as a pastime during her time at Northwestern University, where she studied political and environmental sciences.
Before she opened Madruga, Alvino participated in internships with a pastry chef at a Coral Gables restaurant, worked at other local restaurants and spent a year and a half in Alaska, where she worked at Anchorage’s Fire Island Rustic Bakeshop.
Just two years after opening Madruga, Alvino received a James Beard Nomination as a semi-finalist for outstanding baker.
“I’m really proud of my daughter in this business and the business she created,” Harris said.
Alvino attributes part of her success to the bakery’s emphasis on community.
“I grew up within the general area, and my family grew up here, so I want to have a more community-based bakery,” Alvino said. “I never wanted it to be trendy. We don’t try to do the latest baked good trends.”
The menu features breads, breakfast and lunch specialties and desserts. It also includes her father’s special recipes for banana bread and granola, and they build special menus for Jewish holidays, including Passover.
“My passion really is the bread, and we mill grains here,” Alvino said, adding that the breads are 100 percent whole wheat. “We don’t use any dyes, artificial sweeteners or preservatives either.”
While Alvino aims to keep a consistent menu, there’s recently been the addition of fresh milled whole wheat.
“The fresh milled whole wheat is something we’re doing that’s super unique,” she said. “It is, of course, a little bit of a niche product, but people who are looking for healthy bread really appreciate it. And for the craft, it’s very hard to make 100 percent whole wheat sourdough bread consistently, but I enjoy it.”
Alvino, who opened the restaurant pledging to learn customers’ names and orders, said she enjoys that aspect of the job as well.
“We just really cater to people who like to come here all the time and come back,” she said.
Brickell resident Laura Soto was a regular at the bakery when she lived in the Coral Gables area. While she moved, she keeps coming back to Madruga.
“It’s a nice local bakery, and I think that’s why people come here,” Soto said. “It has that feeling of a very Miami thing.”
UM sophomore and business major Daniel Flores applauds the bakery’s mission to be a community based.
“It’s local, and they make everything from scratch by themselves,” John said.
Larry Harris said he and his daughter appreciate the patronage of UM customers.
“When we first opened, I feel like UM didn’t know much about it,” Harris said. “As the years went on, everyone began to come.”
“Sometimes people come in as freshmen and then we get to know them over four years and see them graduate,” said Alvino.
Author’s Taste Test
Madruga Bakery offers an array of “traditional” baked goods and coffee. Whether you’re on the go or looking to dine in, the bakery accommodates both preferences, even offering the option to pre-order online for convenient pick up. Here are some items we sampled and loved.
The sourdough baguette — $4.50 — has an amazing crackling crust with a chewy inside that creates an exceptional texture. We were a bit hesitant to get a whole baguette, but the slightly tangy taste and the incredible crunch left us just biting it out of the bag.
The mini lemon polenta cake — $4.50 — is a nice size if you are looking for a treat to satisfy your sweet tooth. A great gluten-free option, the polenta makes an interesting texture that adds little bites of crispiness, which we enjoyed. The cake is moist and has a perfect amount of lemon flavor, making it a refreshing bite.
The chocolate chunk cookie — $3 — is packed with oats, coconut, walnuts, chocolate and topped with a pinch of sea salt, which creates a pleasing chewy texture. The cookie has a nice balance of flavors since the walnuts add a savory bite and the sea salt balances the sweetness of the chocolate.
The egg sandwich — $11 — has a perfectly cooked egg with a runny yolk that provides a nice dipping sauce for the onion poppyseed roll — $1.85 — . The bacon adds a nice smoky crunch to the creamy cheese, but we do wish the roll was toasted as well to create another textured level that would take this sandwich up a notch.
The dark chocolate rye brownie — $4.75 — is an extremely good brownie, but we were not able to eat the whole thing because of how decadent it is. It has a crisp top and an insanely moist inside with a rich dark chocolate flavor. If you are a huge chocolate lover, this would be the perfect dessert for you.
The monkey bread — $3.50 — is a smaller serving size like the lemon polenta cake, the perfect amount for any sweet tooth. It has a nice cinnamon flavor that is mixed into crispy outside bites of the bread as well as the softer inside. We think it would be even better warmed up.
The guava and cheese Danish — $5 — has a flaky exterior, an ooey-gooey center with a slightly savory cheese complementing a sweet guava paste that tastes just like Miami in a bite. There was a balance between the cheese and the guava, neither too sweet nor savory.
Madruga Bakery
1430 S. Dixie Highway, Coral Gables
Hours: 8 a.m.–3 p.m. Wednesday–Friday
8 a.m.–2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
words_clare lanscioni, angely pena & nikki rozenfeld. photo_valeria barbaglio. design_marita gavioti.
This article was published in Distraction’s Summer 2024 print issue.
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