Panther1
PROUD PROPRIETORS: Joel and wife Letitia Pollock run the fast-growing Panther Coffee in Miami's Wynwood neighborhood. Here, they are seen outside their flagship store in the shade. Carl Juste / Miami Herald staff
BY ALLISON HORTON
Special to the Miami Herald
A few times a week, marketing and technology consultant Juan Zalduondo takes a break from working at home to head over to bustling Panther Coffee for a java fix, as he has done for the past three years. Friendly baristas greet him, and rock music plays as he strolls past artists and business professionals sipping creamy chocolate East Coast espressos, perhaps, or a simple cup of fragrant freshly brewed coffee.
On this day, Zalduondo, 35, was picking up a half-pound bag of the shop’s freshly roasted espresso to prepare at home; a half-pound of it is about $10. “It is probably my favorite place,” he said of the shop at 2390 NW Second Ave. in Wynwood. “The owners seem to love their craft. The coffee is excellent, and the vibe is good.”
The several celebrities who have passed through might agree with that — Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Toby Maguire, rocker Lenny Kravitz, baseball player Alex Rodriguez and comedian Gallagher, to name some. Miami Heat player Chris Bosh often stops by Panther’s Sunset Harbour location. Star sightings were frequent during Art Basel.