
Always Cooking Something Up
Miamiโs Chef Adrianne Calvo keeps up her momentum with new openings in South Miami
By Clarissa Buch
Adrianne Calvo is in the heat of her busiest year yet. Her namesake flagship restaurant, Chef Adrianneโs Vineyard Restaurant & Wine Bar, recently celebrated 12 years in Kendall; and, in the last few months, sheโs introduced two new conceptsโnoodle shop Noods and dessert spot The Beverlyโinside the Yumbrella Food Hall in South Miami. At the same time, she opened a second location of her fast-casual, breakfast-driven spot, Cracked by Chef Adrianne, at Yumbrella.
โThe scariest thing a person can do is open a restaurant without backing or a solid reputation, and in the middle of nowhere against all odds,โ Calvo says. โI had already done that in my 20s. Opening three concepts at the same time, thatโs a cakewalk now.โ
Ask Calvo which restaurant is her favorite, and sheโll say, โthatโs like asking whoโs your favorite child.โ
โThey all are,โ she says, laughing. โChef Adrianneโs is my firstborn. It took 10 years to even think of expanding. Cracked at the Wharf is my first food truck, Cracked in South Miami is my first food hall [spot], Noods is my first really specific concept, laser-focused. And The Beverly is the most fun and whimsical. Who doesnโt love to wake up and go play with ice cream? One thing they all have in common is that they take a lot of heart to be successful.โ
That heart and passion for food have made the 34-year-old Calvo one of South Floridaโs most accomplished young chefs. In her late teens, Calvo self-published her first cookbook, Maximum Flavor, and by 22, she debuted Chef Adrianneโs in a strip mall in Kendall, the only location she could afford at the time. In the years that followed, she kept busy in the kitchen while writing and publishing three more books.
โI get my motivation from a million places,โ she says. โI love my customers. Iโm obsessed with food and how it makes people feel. I love how they can long for it all day, take pictures of it, and celebrate with it. If youโve had a bad day, your favorite dish can make you feel better. If youโre sick, a bowl of chicken soup makes you feel better. When we travel, we specify places we must eat at first. Food is the epicenter of life; it is the common ground of the world.โ
Though it took Calvo more than a decade to expand beyond Chef Adrianneโs, she says her inspiration and motivation to cook and run restaurants has never run dry. Now, as she moves into the fast-casual arena with her most recent openings, Calvo brings a piece of Chef Adrianneโs into every new project.
โWe still have the fine dining approach to our casual concepts,โ she says. โWe still source like its Chef Adrianneโs, and everything is made from scratch, including our dipping sauces. I want people to experience โmaximum flavor,โ whether itโs in a Five Diamond Reserve filet at Chef Adrianneโs or in a fried chicken sandwich from Cracked.โ
As for Calvoโs most recent openings, Noods and The Beverly, their influence comes from her passion for traveling, specifically discovering Asian restaurants around the country.
โIโve gone all across America on two book tours and we always find time to dive into cultural-jewel neighborhoods,โ she says. โAfter taking the best of what we experienced, we came up with Noods, a euphoric noodle experience. Then came The Beverly, a dessert bar with a nostalgic and elegant personality. In our first month, we ran out of food consistently every weekend even though weโd double up on ordering product. We couldnโt keep up. We had to buy out more space inside of Yumbrella just to keep up with demand. So I am forever grateful and even more inspired now.โ
As for whatโs next, Calvo knows one thing for certain: she will spend the rest of her life cooking.
โWhatโs next? I have no idea,โ she says. โI say if I can cook until I die, I am happy. When inspiration knocks at my door, and the right opportunity presents itself, we move forward.โ โฆ
Yumbrella Food Hall
Location:
Shops at Sunset Place at 5701 Sunset Drive, South Miami
Social:
instagram.com/yumbrellasomi.