Friends,
When we first moved to Miami a decade ago we used to drive around the city, take photos, and very often say out loud, “we love you Miami.” There’s a certain light here that feels different. It’s golden, alive, full of hope, an energy that makes you believe anything is possible. That’s the feeling we wanted to capture when we started Sunshine Coffee.
In September, we started the process of opening the doors to our very first permanent home, our flagship shop inside the Esmé Hotel on Española Way (Thank you Dave, Maya, & Steve). It’s more than a café to us; it’s a dream come true, a love letter to this city, and a home for everyone who believes in the simple joy of a perfect Iced Coffee or Matcha shared with wonderful people.
When we began Sunshine, it wasn’t just about caffeine (although its helped us raise our kids), it was about connection. We wanted to build a place that feels like our family and reflects our community. A place where locals, travelers, creatives, and dreamers can pause, smile, and appreciate life, even when it’s messy, even when it’s hot, even when there is a 15 minute monsoon on the most beautiful day of the year.
Every detail of Sunshine comes from our hearts, from the pastel-yellow walls that feel like morning light, to the blue portal that looks like you’re diving into the ocean, to the mural that reminds us daily to “See the Good in All Things.” Gelareh designed the space herself, filling it with handmade furniture and magic that only Miami could inspire.
Our menu is built around the drinks we love, iced coffees and matchas that taste like happiness. The Miami Iced, perfected over years of tinkering, sits at the center. Around it orbit a family of creations, Cinnamon Toast Crunch Milk, Banana Milk, Pink Vanilla Foam, all roasted, mixed, and poured with love with our locally roasted beans.
And because no good day starts without something delicious to eat, we dreamed up a menu of simple pleasures, Pancake Cake, Brown Butter Focaccia Cinnamon Rolls, the Sunshine Sando (our best in class BEC), breakfast tacos, and yes, even Spicy Tuna Toast and Caviar Toast, because everyone deserves to feel special.
We built Sunshine Coffee as an extension of our family, named after our daughter, Sunshine, and infused with the things that make us happiest: creativity, community, and iced coffee in the city we call home. It’s our way of giving back to the place that’s given us so much, lifting our community up, one cup and one smile at a time.
If you find yourself on Española Way, we’d love for you to stop by. Bring a friend, grab a coffee, stay awhile. Feel the warmth, taste the magic, and see the good in all things. Have a Sunshine Day.
Love,
Alan & Gelareh