A SKYLAKE RESIDENT IS OPENING UP A POPULAR SUB SHOP, KOSHER-STYLE
 

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Eateries cater to late-night munchiesMost eateries are closed for business by 3 a.m. on Saturdays.
But not Los Perros in Miami Lakes and Kendall where house music blasts past 4 a.m. Or Lul Grill Cafe in Sunny Isles Beach where a neon sign glows brightly late into the night. Or Coconut Grove’s Casola’s Pizzeria and Sub Shop, which gets busiest after midnight.
Those are just three of the many restaurants throughout Miami-Dade that are open late, primarily catering to partiers and night owls hungry for something other than fast food.

•Long shot pays off for restaurateurs
Long shot pays off for restaurateursIt wasn’t the best time to start up a new eatery, but the Menna family wasn’t about to have their plans derailed by a declining economy.
The siblings and their mom knew they had the right recipe — a combination of culinary skills and Italian fare that has graced their own tables for generations — for their eponymous eatery, Little Menna’s Pizzeria in Deerfield Beach. Eight months later, their hunch is proving to be correct for a growing number of loyal foodies who have made the cozy storefront inside the Cove Shopping Center their go-to place for pizza, subs, salads, sandwiches and entrees.
”It took a lot of faith to do this,” said Natanyah Menna, who put her culinary arts degree on hold at Johnson & Wales University in North Miami to work at the restaurant. ”Luckily, we have an affordable product and plenty of regulars keeping us busy.” The idea for the eatery began brewing when her brother, Jeremy, a pizza chef for the past seven years, wanted to break out on his own. He asked his sister and their

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Literally.
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•Liberty City residents get schooled on living green
Liberty City residents get schooled on living greenThe Belafonte Tacolcy Center, in conjunction with Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, held its third annual Go Green event recently at the Tacolcy Center in Liberty City.
Titled ”Planting the Seeds, Growing the Future,” it was a day-long environmental fair to educate the community on issues such as composting, how to make homes eco-friendly and gardening.
‘We want people to have that `a-ha’ moment when they realize how important conservation is, the importance of things like conserving water, of preserving the life we have,” said Alison Austin, CEO, Tacolcy Center.

•Liberty City residents get schooled on living green
Liberty City residents get schooled on living greenThe Belafonte Tacolcy Center, in conjunction with Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, held its third annual Go Green event recently at the Tacolcy Center in Liberty City.
Titled ”Planting the Seeds, Growing the Future,” it was a day-long environmental fair to educate the community on issues such as composting, how to make homes eco-friendly and gardening.
‘We want people to have that `a-ha’ moment when they realize how important conservation is, the importance of things like conserving water, of preserving the life we have,” said Alison Austin, CEO, Tacolcy Center.
BY MICAELA HOOD
mhood@MiamiHerald.com
For the next three weeks, Maurice Lichy will be putting the finishing touches on his new business: a kosher Subway franchise at the Michael-Ann Russell Jewish Community Center in North Miami Beach, the first of its kind in Florida.

Lichy’s business, officially titled Kosher Glatt Subway, will offer traditional sub sandwiches that adhere to Jewish dietary law.

“A lot of people in the Jewish community can’t wait until we open, myself and my family included,” said Lichy, who lives in Skylake with his wife, son and three daughters.

Currently, there are 10 Kosher Glatt Subways nationwide, according to the Rob Wilson, public relations coordinator for the sub chain.

Lichy, who is looking to open a second Kosher Glatt Subway somewhere in South Florida, said he’s happy to be known as No. 11.

The restaurant is scheduled to open in about three weeks — Lichy has yet to set a date — and will be located inside the center’s Sanford L. Ziff campus at 18900 NE 25th Ave.

“We’re very excited to have a world-class chain restaurant here on campus,” said Gary Bomzer, executive director of the community center. “Many of our members stick to the kosher laws and they will be very happy to be able to eat a Subway sandwich.”

Lichy is a familiar face at the JCC. He owns and manages The J Cafe at the center, and soon will open Elsie’s Cafe, part of ongoing improvement projects at the community center.

Subway diners will have their choice of sandwich meats, including turkey imported from Israel, meatball, pastrami, steak, tuna, beef rye, salami, bologna and roast beef.

The restaurant also will serve parve (non-dairy) cookies, soup and eight choices of beverages. To keep kosher, the sub shop will serve only American soy cheese because dietary law prohibits serving dairy products with meat.

Sandwiches will start at $5 for a six-inch sub, soft drink and a side of chips. The sub shop will also serve kosher bread — which includes Italian, whole wheat and honey oat.

But what’s really different about a kosher Subway?

According to Lichy, just about everything.

The restaurant will be required to have a full-time mashgiach — a rabbi that has the authority to ensure that food, utensils, kitchen area, food preparation at the restaurant will follow the requirements of Jewish law, Lichy said.

“And being kosher means we have to cut the meat ourselves, unlike other Subways that receive the food already packaged,” Lichy said.

The Subway location also will have a sink near the dining area so patrons can wash their hands before the Hamotzi, or blessing of the bread. Lichy’s eatery will shut its doors at 4 p.m. Friday and stay closed Saturday in observance of the Jewish Sabbath.

The restaurant will be open to members and guests of the center, which requires photo identification to enter.

“People have told me that they are tired of going to the same kosher dives,” Lichy said. “So this should be a nice addition to the community.”

Miami Herald