Today we’d like to introduce you to Flyfuel Food.
Hi Jesse, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
During my high school years in 2004-2008, my family owned a pizzeria called Presto Pizza on Lincoln Road, Miami Beach. At the age of 16 after school and on the weekends, I was delivering pizzas, but the business itself intrigued me. There was something about food that inspired and attracted my curiosity.
My family is a foodie family, they live to eat, and they don’t eat to live. Growing up as a millennial that was quite the conundrum as health, organic, natural, etc. was always in front of me. Our food at Presto was as gourmet as it could be for a local family-owned pizza shop. We served subs, salads, burgers, pasta, breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even late night to the 2 am club crowd. I quickly learned the ins and outs of the business. I experienced all facets of operating. I worked the line, I hand-made pizza dough, I served customers, I responded to employee late-night phone calls, I handled banking, etc. And although I am passionate about food, I also realized that unhealthy food was not a sustainable life to live.
Fast forward to 2014, I had recently graduated with a degree in Hospitality from Florida State University and moved back to my hometown in Aventura. My older brother and cousin decided that we should open a juice bar as our food options in Aventura were pretty limited back then. So, the three of us came up with a concept called Raw Republic. Raw Republic started as a simple juice bar, serving cold-pressed juice, acai bowls, and superfood smoothies. The community ate it up, literally. We became a local hotspot in Aventura and developed what some called a cult following. We ended up expanding to three locations in South Florida and a franchise in Mexico. We moved a bit too quickly with little experience and not enough resources, which ultimately led to the closure of Raw Republic in 2018.
Then in 2019, I founded a new concept called Flyfuel Food Co., with two new partners whom I had met along my journey. One of these partners gave us the financial support to get our concept off the ground. The other was a mentor to me, who had years of experience and leadership working for Whole Foods. Unfortunately, last year in January 2023, this partner had an untimely death at the age of 44, and I was left with the wisdom and knowledge he had taught me, to continue expanding. We developed together the brand which I passionately love, and call Flyfuel.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It’s hard to operate a business in today’s society. Especially in Miami, even more especially in the restaurant industry. The city has become very politically influenced, making it difficult, timely, and expensive to open a business.
To operate any business that handles food, you need to have a sophisticated grease trap, which costs anywhere from 30k-50k to install. Plus, the cities are so overwhelmed with applications that some individual departments take as long as 6 months just to review your plans. Our midtown location took us over 18 months to open from the start to receiving our operating permit from the city.
Then you have a landlord, whom you have a contract with and a limited timeframe of which you typically have to open before they begin charging you rent. Then you have partners who have expectations of your original timeline, which changes as there are lots of factors out of your control. Then your budget changes.
Then you’re finally open for business. And, in today’s society, it is extremely hard to find reliable employees in Miami. Work ethic seems like a thing of the past. And when you do find them, it’s even harder to keep them, and then there’s the question of keeping them happy. It’s hard to survive in this economy making $15 an hour. The average 1 bedroom 1 bathroom apartment in Miami is around $2800 a month, which means you couldn’t even cover your rent at that wage.
So, what do you do? Your business model can’t afford to pay upwards of $20/hour to employees, or you won’t survive. So, raise your prices? Deal with losing customers, or negative reviews from unhappy people who don’t value your services? There are endless challenges in this business, but these are just a few of the more prominent issues that make this industry so difficult. Some other challenges always on our radar are new competition, rising food costs, weather/hurricanes (in Miami…), and getting customers to find you.
We’ve been impressed with Flyfuel Food, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Flyfuel is an affordable destination with something for everyone where the staff wants their guests to become family (dogs are welcome). Vegetarians and vegans alike can enjoy a spin on gluten-free cauliflower pizza or oven-baked sesame tofu.
Another refreshing option is their signature liquid fuel featuring coffee-themed refreshments and teas or lemonades, like a Flyproof Coffee with almond butter, organic agave, almond milk, and a shot of cold brew coffee, or a Dragonfruit Mango Lemonade shaken with lemonade, real dragonfruit, and mango. We pride ourselves on only using the freshest, cleanest ingredients in every dish.
New items incorporate chicken roasted in-house and sustainably caught ahi-tuna including the Curry Bowl and Avocado Ahi Wrap. Other menu highlights are Cauliflower Crust Pizza topped with tomatoes, mozzarella, parmesan, tomato sauce, arugula, and olive oil, and a Lentil Veggie Salad filled with arugula, chopped romaine, black lentils, shredded carrots, avocado, roasted sweet potato, roasted asparagus, almonds and honey balsamic vinaigrette.
Due to the popularity of Acai Bowls at Raw Republic, Flyfuel also honors the fan favorites including the very berry mixed with acai, mixed berries, and banana and drizzled with granola, blueberries, strawberries, and almond butter.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
We love hearing feedback from our customers, good or bad. This is why we do this, we are motivated by hearing if our ideas and creations are leaving you blown away.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.eatflyfuel.com
- Instagram: @flyfuel
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flyfuelfood/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/flyfuel-food-midtown-miami?osq=flyfuel
- Other: https://www.yelp.com/biz/flyfuel-food-aventura-5
