Today we’d like to introduce you to Paolo Orsolini.
Prima Classe is a small Italian market and cafe’ situated in the heart of South of fifth, Sobe. It was born by the idea of Paolo Orsolini who is an Italian entrepreneur dedicated since 2000 in the Italian specialty Foods Import. The idea was to replicate the concept of offering and displaying the product line not only for the trade but overall for the American and international individual clientele who was lacking a small local Italian food shopping experience while gathering for a quick espresso or cappuccino and croissant in the morning.
The inspiration was based on the fact that in Miami, we were missing a concept of the Italian bar and Bottega where all people can gather in different moment of the day, from breakfast to lunch and for an evening aperitivo, a place where all the ingredients do the talk because they are 100% authentic and selected.
Our personnel is our strength because, they are highly skilled and specialized in their job from making the perfect cappuccino and espresso with our mechanical Faema E61 Legend and freshly ground artisanal coffee selected from small estates to slicing our Prosciutto di Parma and San Daniele, to making delicious yet simple Taglieres, panini, tramezzini, and salads.
Prima Classe is a simple Bottega and cafe’ but has a great energy because we put a smile into our clients when they come and eat genuine foods. We are not restauranteurs, therefore, our strength is our food and our simplicity in managing our operation.
The place offers today a menu selection of Foods and Wines, all from Italy of course and all of our products are from all our 20 regions of Italy from Sicily to Sardinia, passing from Naples, Rome, Florence, up Venezia and the mountains of Trentino and Friuli.
Our bread and bakery are baked in-house every day and filled with artisanal jams, ricotta cream or organic Nutella. We are adding to our choice also some healthy and organic selection, gluten-free is also available. We constantly design a new menu to offer by listening to our client’s requests, but we also keep our formula unique by offering at the end a food experience based on our ingredients.
A little Market is also available for our customer who are willing to cook at home or just eat some cheeses and wine with some sliced prosciutto. Our Aperitivo or our Italian style happy hour is offering a selection of wines prosecco, mimosa, Bellini, and wine cocktails and is paired with a selection of foods like salumi boards cheeses, olives, focaccia bread, and appetizers.
We team up with an Italian Chef Valter Mancini who always has been on our side since the beginning and who between one shift and another into his actual own working schedule, helps us out to design new products and revises the menu. Our Wine list is willing to offer simple and affordable wines on one end but also provide some cru selections and branded wines for the most demanding clients.
Prima Classe has an outdoor patio and indoor seating so that people can enjoy each other company while being kissed by our Miami sun or work inside with their laptop or gather for a quick work meeting and get a coffee or sip a glass of wine or grab a bite or having a complete meal.
We are offering products to different type of clients who come to shop: the cook, the foodie, the health conscious, the sophisticated, the hungry contractor, the local waiters but overall it has become a gathering for many Italian Chefs who want to meet and taste our product line before deciding to put into their menu.
Prima Classe is an Italian food experience, and we like to treat our customers in a kind way, trying to accommodate where possible any type of request. Our customers are returning, and we are always striving to get better and to provide a better food and wine experience.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Prima Classe has marked one year of operations, and it has been hard to create a name since we are Food Importers and our experience in the hospitality business is limited. Our strength has always been found between our people and our ingredients and that today has created a formula that is here to stay for a long time!
Miami Beach regulations are very strong, and the amount of taxes and dues are not helping small business to grow, besides we have limited parking space and that is not helping us much. The location is nice and well situated, but we have limited foot traffic.
Please tell us about Prima Classe, Italian Market & Cafe’.
Paolo Orsolini is the founder of Orso Italian Specialty Foods, we are importers and distributors of Italian foods in the foodservice segment. Prima Classe is the retail extension of Orso and provides the same ingredients to the retail segment. We are known to import the best Italian foods in South Florida, and our mission is to keep growing while maintaining high sets of quality standards.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I was always a happy kid, and I always liked to explore the new countryside with my Grandfather when we were going hunting. I remember we always roamed close to the rivers and he was telling me stories of his life. We had a great bond!
Pricing:
- Sandwiches $ 12-14
- wines $6.5- 8.5 per glass, $18- up for bottles
- Espresso $ 1.5
Contact Info:
- Address: 842 1st Street (Commerce Street/Jefferson Avenue)
Miami Beach, Fl 33139 - Website: primaclasse.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: primaclassemiami
- Facebook: prima classe italianmarket& Cafe
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