In an exclusive MiamiBusiness.com interview, Vicente Cordero explains La Birra Bar’s rise from a Buenos Aires family restaurant. He also reveals why Coral Gables and New York represent its next defining chapters.
Twenty-five years ago, La Birra Bar began as a family restaurant in Boedo, Buenos Aires. The neighborhood was shaped by tradition, community and an unmistakable Argentine identity. Today, its burgers are served in four countries, and its name is displayed on Miracle Mile. Its trophy case also includes major victories in Miami and Dubai.
The next destination may be its most ambitious yet.
In that interview, Cordero shared the company’s next move. La Birra Bar plans to open a Madison Avenue restaurant in New York City in summer 2027. The opening would carry the brand from its 25th-anniversary year into a new era. The journey began at a family table in Argentina, found its American foothold in Miami and now points toward New York.
“It’s not a good burger. It’s the best one.” — Vicente Cordero, partner and co-owner of La Birra Bar
A Family Restaurant That Learned to Think Globally
La Birra Bar’s story begins in 2001, when Argentina was approaching one of the most difficult economic periods in its modern history. What started as a neighborhood café and family restaurant gradually developed an obsession with producing a better burger. Over time, that pursuit became the center of the business.
Even after expanding across Argentina, the United States, Spain and Chile, Cordero says the company still sees itself through the same lens.
“The heart of the franchise is a family restaurant,” he told MiamiBusiness.com.
Cordero is originally from Chile and studied business management, but the culinary world always interested him. When he was given the opportunity to join La Birra Bar’s ownership team, the decision began with something simple: the partners tried the burgers. Every one of them reached the same conclusion—the product was exceptional.
He became involved during the early stages of the brand’s international development and now helps oversee its locations and the systems designed to protect quality as the company grows.
The Recipe That Refused to Change
Restaurant brands often enter new markets by adjusting recipes to local tastes. La Birra Bar chose a more difficult path: it wanted customers in Miami, Madrid and Santiago to experience the same essential product served in Buenos Aires.
“The recipe never changed,” Cordero said.
That promise became central to the company’s expansion: growth would matter only if the brand could reproduce its standards abroad.
Cordero said the company uses Argentine beef that is processed daily in Miami for its South Florida restaurants. Food is prepared through a local production facility and delivered to the locations each day. He emphasized scratch preparation, fresh ingredients and the absence of unnecessary additives, along with details that have become part of the brand’s identity: the bread, the toppings, the proprietary recipes and a closely guarded secret mayonnaise.
For example, the menu ranges from a traditional cheeseburger to creations such as the Crispy Dubai, Golden Burger, Spicy Velvet and Lover. For Cordero, the company represents a great burger, an Argentine experience and an international hospitality brand.
Why Miami Became the American Starting Point
The partners believed La Birra Bar could become an international company long before its first restaurant opened in the United States. For Cordero, the global possibilities became especially clear around 2017.
When the company was ready to enter the American market, Miami felt like the natural choice. The partners knew the city and understood its relationship with Latin America. Miami’s international population also gave the brand an opportunity to introduce itself to customers carrying influences from across the United States, the Caribbean, Latin America and Europe.
Cordero described Miami as La Birra Bar’s “organic stepping stone” into the country.
The first opening, in North Miami Beach, was a serious test. La Birra Bar had to build a local team, establish its systems and prove the concept could succeed outside its home market.
Miami answered quickly.
About six months after opening its first U.S. restaurant, La Birra Bar won the 2022 Burger Bash People’s Choice Award. As a result, the brand earned powerful validation from the Miami market.
La Birra Bar continued expanding across South Florida, adding restaurants in Wynwood, Fort Lauderdale, Weston, Doral and Coral Gables.
From Miami’s Burger Bash to a World Championship
The first Burger Bash victory was not an isolated moment. In fact, La Birra Bar won the People’s Choice Award again in 2025 and 2026. That gave the brand three victories in five years. In 2025, it also received the festival’s Best Side Dish recognition.
The 2026 winning entry, the Crispy Dubai, combines beef, white cheese, crispy onions and truffle chimichurri mayonnaise. Earlier that year, the burger was named the overall winner of the inaugural Dubai Burger Championship.
For Cordero, the awards confirmed what the company had built. The response was not to reinvent the product, but to protect it and make the same burger again the following day.
Why Miracle Mile Was the Logical Choice
La Birra Bar’s Coral Gables restaurant at 219 Miracle Mile places the brand in one of Miami-Dade County’s most recognizable commercial districts. Cordero said the location made sense because of what Miracle Mile represents to the City Beautiful: walkability, architecture, established businesses, destination dining and a strong connection to the surrounding community.
Moreover, each restaurant develops a slightly different personality. In Coral Gables, Cordero said, first-time visitors are becoming the repeat customers essential to long-term success.
Miracle Mile also illustrates the balance at the center of the company’s expansion strategy. La Birra Bar wants to become part of the community it enters without allowing the fundamentals of the brand to change. The surroundings may be different. The recipe is not.
The Business Discipline Behind “Made From Scratch”
Restaurant marketing frequently uses words such as “fresh,” “authentic” and “made from scratch.” At La Birra Bar, Cordero describes those ideas as daily operating commitments rather than slogans.
Maintaining them requires long hours, production planning, training and daily coordination. Cordero’s business-management background helps shape that work: culinary creativity may attract attention, but repeatable systems make growth possible. That combination may be La Birra Bar’s most important business ingredient.
A 25th Anniversary—and the Road to Madison Avenue
As La Birra Bar celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2026, the company is already preparing for the next defining chapter in its international journey.
Cordero told MiamiBusiness.com that La Birra Bar is planning to open a restaurant on Madison Avenue in New York City in summer 2027. The planned grand opening would place the Argentine brand in one of the world’s most competitive and visible dining markets.
However, New York will bring a different customer base, operating environment and level of competition. But the strategy that carried La Birra Bar from Argentina to Miami is expected to remain familiar: understand the community, build the right team and refuse to compromise the product.
Twenty-five years after a family restaurant in Boedo began perfecting its burgers, Miracle Mile represents how far La Birra Bar has traveled. Madison Avenue represents where it intends to go next.
The cities may change—from Buenos Aires to Miami and, soon, New York—but the principles behind the company remain strikingly simple: make everything fresh, protect the recipe and do the work every day.
For La Birra Bar, the next 25 years will begin the same way the first 25 did—with a family philosophy, an uncompromising standard and the belief that its burger belongs on the world stage.
Common Questions About La Birra Bar
Where is La Birra Bar in Coral Gables?
La Birra Bar’s Coral Gables restaurant is located at 219 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables, Florida 33134.
Where did La Birra Bar originate?
La Birra Bar began as a family restaurant in the Boedo neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2001.
How many La Birra Bar locations are in South Florida?
La Birra Bar operates six South Florida locations: North Miami Beach, Wynwood, Fort Lauderdale, Weston, Doral and Coral Gables.
What awards has La Birra Bar won?
La Birra Bar has won three People’s Choice Awards at Miami’s Burger Bash—in 2022, 2025 and 2026. Its Crispy Dubai was also named the overall winner of the inaugural 2026 Dubai Burger Championship.
Is La Birra Bar opening in New York City?
Vicente Cordero told MiamiBusiness.com that La Birra Bar is planning a Madison Avenue restaurant for summer 2027. The timing reflects the company’s current plan at the time of the interview.
About La Birra Bar
Founded in Buenos Aires in 2001, La Birra Bar is an Argentine burger brand with operations in Argentina, the United States, Spain and Chile. Its six South Florida restaurants are located in North Miami Beach, Wynwood, Fort Lauderdale, Weston, Doral and Coral Gables.
Visit La Birra Bar in Coral Gables
La Birra Bar – Coral Gables
219 Miracle Mile
Coral Gables, FL 33134
LaBirraBarUSA.com
Instagram: @labirrabar.usa
