Jholano’s Deli Is Opening an Italian Street Food Restaurant in Miami

One of the best Italian deli shops in Miami, which went viral on social media thanks to its mouthwatering sandwiches, is embarking on a new mission —  to bring Roman street food to Miami in an ambiance that teleports its guests to Italy.

Jholano’s Deli, the viral deli shop in Coral Gables known for its robust Italian sandwiches and long lines out the door, is opening a Roman street food restaurant called Fratelli By Jholano’s in Downtown Dadeland in Kendall next to Carrot Express. The soft opening is Friday, March 1.

In true Jholano’s fashion, table reservations are already booking up as quickly as its sandwiches fly off its deli counter in the Gables. And the restaurant isn’t even open yet.

But what exactly is a Roman street food restaurant you may be wondering? “It’s Italian, but don’t expect pasta on the menu besides our housemade lasagna,” explains owner Julio Humberto Olano to New Times.

On the menu, Olano and his team are whipping up Tuscan, Roman, and Venice-inspired classics like Roman flatbreads covered in figs, Italian cured meats, prosciutto, and artichokes, salads made with aged balsamic glaze and ripe cherry tomatoes, fried potato balls with housemade aioli, and Neapolitan meatballs made with San Marzano tomatoes served with crisp focaccia bread called mezzi doppio.

For those who are fans of Jholano’s Deli’s cult-following sandwiches, three of the deli’s focaccia sandwiches will also be on the menu.

“We will five total sandwiches — three are fan favorites from the deli that you can get at Jholano’s, which are the ‘The Jholano,’ the ‘3 a.m. in Rome,’ and the ‘7 a.m. in Milano,'” he explains. “The other two other sandwiches are a breakfast sandwich and a meatball sub.”

The three aforementioned sandwiches have amassed a cult following on social media. “The Jholano” is made of focaccia bread, fig jam, brie cheese, prosciutto di parma, mortadella, hard salami, arugula, oil, balsamic vinegar, and a little bit of salt and pepper. The “3 a.m. in Rome” is also a foccacia-based sandwich, but this one is layered with hard salami, hot capicola, fresh mozzarella, and salt. Lastly, the “7 a.m. in Milano” is made of focaccia bread, hard salami, hot capicola, truffle burrata, arugula, salt, pepper, oil, and balsamic vinegar.

Therefore, those who want to skip the long line for a Jholano’s sandwich in the Gables will be able to try one in the Kendall area — if they can snag a reservation in time.

The story of Jhlolano’s Deli and Fratelli by Jholano’s goes back to early 2022, when Olano, a born and raised Kendall resident of Cuban and Nicaraguan descent, and his business partner Gustavo Ramírez flew to Italy to create recipes inspired by the food they ate in Tuscany, Rome, and Venice.

“In February 2022 me and my partner went to Italy to make a bunch of menu items for the deli, but then we also cooked a bunch of menu items that we saved in our cookbook, so that one day when we would open a sit-down restaurant, we could bring our flavors from Italy to Miami.”

They didn’t just want to open an Italian restaurant. They wanted to open one that was as authentic as can be to the experiences they had in Italy. This is an impressive challenge for two young business partners relying on their tastes and experiences to make up their menu. However, their business model has already been proven to be successful — and they’re only getting started. “I’ve just worked with so many restaurants and helped market them that I learned good food through them,” explains Olano. “We don’t have an executive chef — it’s just me and my partner controlling what we put on the menu.”

This is why you won’t find an array of spaghetti, fettuccine Alfredo, or penne a la vodka on the menu. They’re serving up exactly what Romans would eat back in Italy.

The restaurant, which will be open daily from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m., will serve late breakfast, lunch, and dinner in its new Downtown Dadeland location.

Situated next to numerous shops and restaurants, the restaurant will offer indoor and outdoor seating options. In its dimly lit dining room, expect a brick wall, small, modern lighting fixtures hanging from the ceiling, and glasses of wine hanging along the kitchen wall.

As for the restaurant’s singular pasta dish, it is lasagna. Olano emphasizes that it is unlike a regular lasagna, as it’s pan-seared and covered in housemade creamy tomato sauce.

“We want to bring the flavors that we learned in Tuscany, Venice, Rome, and Milan to Miami, so this has been a project we’ve worked on for over two years. We can’t wait for you to try it.”

Fratelli by Jholano’s. 8860 SW 72 Pl., Miami; fratellibyjholanos.com. Monday through Sunday from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. Opening March 1.