The scene is Art Basel Miami, an annual gathering of global artists and designers from around the world. With gallery events and openings happening all around us, the Miami Design District welcomed a new high-end opening of a different sort: the long-awaited arrival of BIGFACE Brand’s flagship store.
The new cafe is an ultramodern 2,500-square-foot building that serves as both a cafe and retail space for NBA star (and soon-to-be free agent) Jimmy Butler, whose work is supported by BIGFACE Brand COO Britt Berg. This dynamic duo has envisioned a retail concept like this one all the way back to 2023, but now it’s open to the public.
“We want to create something totally different,” Berg told me on opening weekend. “We want consumers to be curious, and to ask what’s going on. Ultimately, we want them to feel happiness.”
Art Basel is a competitive week for attention and events, but BIGFACE kept a line wrapped around the cafe throughout. To celebrate their opening, owner Jimmy Butler and BIGFACE rolled out the red carpet with a VIP party that included Carmelo Anthony, Paul Pogba, Kevin Love, and DJ Khaled. They followed-up with a yoga session the next morning and rounded out the weekend as the pitstop for a curated car showcase. Most notably during opening weekend, Butler was seen behind bar pulling shots on the Modbar Espresso AV, giving him a courtside view of the proceedings.
“I feel gratitude,” Jimmy Butler tells Sprudge. “It’s overwhelming to see the support. BIGFACE is bigger than I ever imagined and to be able to come in and work behind the bar and talk to customers is why I started this whole thing.”
BIGFACE’s cafe in Miam’s Design District is no accident. This neighborhood is the city’s center point of art and fashion, making it the perfect spot to bridge gaps between cultures through coffee.“[Guests] may ask themselves, is this a coffee shop or a clothing store?” says Berg. “We want to be coffee first, which is why the bar is the front and center.”
The shop’s gallery-esque sleek interior is primarily comprised of white walls, metallic silver furnishings, and pops of color from the BIGFACE merchandise. The back of the cafe contains plush sofas and stadium-style seating encouraging longer stays. The intent of the minimalistic space is to provide an elevated experience for visitors.
“Man, the details,” Butler tells us. “It’s everything, from working with the team on the glassware we serve coffee in, to the ratios for dial in, to the straws we use, no detail in this place was not looked at and they all contribute to the customer experience and quality in the cup.”
That attention to detail of course extends to gear. An under-counter Modbar Espresso AV machine anchors the space, featuring customized brew actuators and steam actuators. There are two Mahlkönig E80S GBW grinders beside the Modbar. BIGFACE partnered with Created Co. on their customized glassware and drinkware. The curation of elevated coffee equipment is noticeable, but comes with a price, even for pro athletes.
“Coffee shops aren’t cheap, and building takes time!” Butler says, laughing. “We dug up a lot of stuff in this spot, an old koi pond where our grease trap is, pipes from the 1900s, permits with the city of Miami. But the coolest thing is we did it, and it’s here and people are able to now enjoy it.”
The first month open has been a journey for BIGFACE, but if their launch at Art Basel is anything to go by, the space has been very well-received. This cafe represents a culminating moment for Jimmy Butler’s foray into the coffee world, from brewing coffee during the NBA lockdown bubble to now opening his own brick and mortar. We can’t wait to see where BIGFACE goes next.
Giovanni Fillari is Brand Marketing Specialist at Nike and the publisher of @_coffeefeed. He is the honorable mention Sprudgie Award recipient for Social Media in 2018 and 2021. Read more Giovanni Fillari for Sprudge.
Photos by Aisha Ali Parker for BIGFACE, used with permission
