Shake stand to open near Knaus Berry Farm
In 1950, the Marraccini family came to Florida to find the perfect location to plant their mulberry branch.
More than 60 years later, the Marraccini mulberry bush is flourishing and Phil Marraccini, 65, is finally expanding the selection of berries available on his family farm.
On Saturday, he is opening Phil’s Berry Farm, selling fruit shakes and baked goods in front of his new red barn. The fruit stand is on the same street as Knaus Berry Farm, a fixture in South Florida for 50 years. It also is on the same street where Marraccini’s family had owned Summerland Tropical Fish Farms until selling the business last year.
“I’m a people person,” Marraccini said. “I’m hoping to have a place where people can sit down and relax instead of getting their shake and leaving.”
Marraccini envisions friends and families chatting, drinking shakes and playing checkers in a coffeehouse atmosphere inside his newly built 2,400-square-foot red barn at 13955 SW 248th St. He hopes to open a full restaurant in the barn serving lunch and dinner as well as a small banquet hall. In the meantime, visitors hoping to find food will find ribs served by Papa Joe’s Smokin’ BBQ food truck.
To open his restaurant, Marraccini will need a zoning variance from Miami-Dade County, which will require a public hearing. Also, Marraccini is opening his shake stand without a certificate of use from the county. He said he intends to file an application for one as soon as Monday. The county issued a 15-day warning notice to him on Thursday, giving him that period before taking any action.
Currently there are no berries growing out of the earth on Phil’s Berry Farm besides those on the mulberry tree; fruit for the shakes will be coming from California and North Florida. However, Marraccini says he plans to start growing fresh strawberries next season along with hydroponically grown produce.
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