Miami’s beloved Blue Collar restaurant, famous for its comfort food, is moving
When it opened 12 years ago on Biscayne Boulevard in Miami, Blue Collar restaurant was a pioneer of sorts in the MiMo neighborhood.
Now, the spot famous for its affordable comfort food is leaving its original home to move — but only across the street.
The new restaurant — in the former space of Balan’s restaurant, which closed abruptly in 2018 — is considerably bigger than the original. Its 4,000 square feet to the original’s 800 is big enough to hold more tables but not so cavernous that Blue Collar’s cozy feeling will be muted.
There will be room for 140 diners in the new dining room and outdoor patio and, for the first time in Blue Collar history, a full bar with a menu packed with classic cocktails. Even the coffee menu will be improved: The new Blue Collar will have espresso and cappuccino offerings in addition to brewed coffee.
Owner and chef Danny Serfer, who also owns the oyster-and-seafood spot Mignonette, says he would have liked to make the move sooner, but it just didn’t work out.
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“I’ve always liked that space,” he says. “From day one, when we first opened, we’d tell people who were waiting for a table to go have a seat at the bar at Balan’s, and we’ll call you. . . . Blue Collar is a very good restaurant, but it’s not the most comfortable restaurant. It’s small and loud.”
The new space also has a larger kitchen, which means more flexibility in the menu.
“We would’ve loved to make more desserts, bake fresh bread and make fresh pasta, but with our size limitations we couldn’t really do that,” Serfer says.
Blue Collar classics will remain, of course: The Billy Corben sandwich (brisket with latkes and applesauce), the cheeseburger and The Big Ragout (brisket, veal shoulder, pork shoulder, pancetta and rigatoni) all remain. Other menu items are still being developed, but are likely to include a trio of eggrolls (cheeseburger, Cuban sandwich and pepperoni pizza); mushroom and goat cheese croquettes; lamb shawarma; and Swedish meatballs.
Serfer promises the new bar means “a really great happy hour.”
“In the vicinity of this neighborhood — Morningside, Belle Meade, Miami Shores, Bay Point — I don’t know that there are enough people offering a great happy hour,” Serfer said. “We’d like to do that.”
Serfer knows that moving to a larger space comes with challenges as well as blessings. With more tables, he’ll need to add to his restaurant team, hiring new cooks and front of house staff. The team has been together for years and finding new staff to fit in can be tricky, he says.
“We’re such a tight-knit crew that finding new people who get it is very challenging,” he says. “I don’t want to make us sound like jerks or too cliquey, but we’re protective of each other. . . . We have to be really careful about hiring but still be more willing to accept new team members.”
The new bar also presents a different problem for Serfer: He’s been in recovery for years and can’t sample the new cocktails to judge them.
“If a chef comes up with a new dish, I can taste it,” he says. “But I’m not losing clean time to try an alcoholic drink.”
But this is where the close-knit, family nature of his team comes in: He has full trust in general manager Adam Simon who has been with the company since the second week it opened.
“He has experience with bars and bar-tending, and he hasn’t gotten to do this for years,” Serfer says.
As for the original Blue Collar space, which will close sometime at the end of March or early April, Serfer has plans for it that he’s not quite ready to reveal yet.
“Let’s just say it will be in the Blue Collar vein,” he says.
The new Blue Collar is expected to open sometime in April.
Blue Collar
New address: 6789 Biscayne Blvd., Miami
Opening: April 2024 (old space will close in late March/early April)
More information: www.bluecollarmiami.com or 305-756-0366
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