Today we’d like to introduce you to Paula Costa.
Paula, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
We are Argentinian wine and food professionals and lovers. I started pretty young in the service industry and fell in love with wine as a way of communication between people, their humanity and Mother Nature. Same way as food, though your senses, wine has the ability to make people react, move, remember, go back to moments and spaces stored in their organoleptic memory. I decided to became a Sommelier when I was 18 years old in Argentina. At the school, I met Fernanda Orellano (Director of the Whine School EAS) whom 12 years later turn from my mentor in to my Business Partner.
I worked in the industry for 18 years already, mostly in the front of the house, as a Server, Bartender and Sommelier but Food was always my first love. I spent my whole “Argentinian life” cooking with my grandma eating spoons that taste just like pure Love. My last experience in Buenos Aires was as a Sommelier for the Faena Hotel (2004-2007).
Miami chapter started in 2007 working as a Beverage Program Director for Novecento, there was where I met my other Partner in Business but mainly and fortunately my Partner in Life. After almost seven years of working hard, and learning a tone from Novecento’s creator Hector Rolotti, we felt ready to start a small business by ourselves, with a small amount of resources but full of passion and commitment with the message we wanted to deliver though our product. I always dreamed about a place where every single detail where created with passion, love and effort.
Then, in 2014, I found this little tire shop in the middle of a very emerging but still creepy neighborhood, we open a Wine Shop with Granda’s style empanadas that never stopped growing and evolving since then.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
As we decided to take the “long way”, since we don’t believe in short cuts to get to sustainable quality products, the whole way was and is full of obstacles. First years where so hard enrolling people that trust our way of viewing service and cooking. Creating a team to expand keeping your concept and consistency is definitely the hardest to get, we deeply believe that the most complicated way gives the best results, we hand crafted the furniture turning antiques in to “uniques”, we just worked with 100% fresh products prepared right at the moment. and a tire shop is a pretty difficult venue to adapt to the restaurant that we became.
Lack of infrastructure always limited us about expanding our business, it was and it is a very hard way to get into the next level. Now we are facing our most Challenge, we are building a new location with all the infrastructure that we needed and we never had. the challenge now is to keep the quality and spirit, facing a bigger demand, we do not believe in opening more than one location, because Bunbury is a Family house. but in the same house, we will have a Diner Restaurant and the two new concepts: Deli and Hand Crafted Cocktail Bar.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Bunbury Miami story. Tell us more about the business.
Our specialty are the empanadas, with 8 different flavors all of them bake and home made, from the most traditional hand cut beef with “chimichurri” to our signatures Braised Lamb and Prosciutto mushroom and brie.
Also the wine selection, we have 130 references of wines carefully selected, just from wineries that work with the same passion as us. mainly Argentinian wines but also a lot of American, Italian and a little bit from all over the world. the price point of the wines is so aggressive, since we are a wine shop with restaurant is pretty lower price than any other restaurant.
All our food is super home made and designed to pair with really good wines, it has its own identity mixing every day simple food made with technique and consistency (like our “Grilled Vacio” that is just soooooo tender) with bites that can pair the best wines of our selection (like our signature “Brie Crocante” Breaded with almonds and served with a fig vinaigrette, or our Duck confit).
We want people to forget everything when they get in to Bunbury, and just relax and enjoy an organoleptic experience, feeling that they don’t know in which city they are or even what year it is.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Definitely, we had luck since the first day, but we believe in taking care of the luck by working hard.
Contact Info:
- Address: 2200 NE 2nd Ave
Miami FL 33137 - Phone: 305 333 6929
- Email: geraldine@bunburymiami.com
- Instagram: @bunburymiami
- Facebook: bunburymiami
- Yelp: bunbury miami
Getting in touch: VoyageMIA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
