‘It’s been phenomenal for us’ – How the Miami Grand Prix partners local restaurants to benefit the community

“It’s great that instead of bringing globally established brands, they bring that activity here and try to get the locals to service the event. It gives people like us the opportunity to participate in an event that otherwise we wouldn’t be able to. And that gives us a platform to grow and to know more about the community and know more about the needs of those people.”

Salomon adds: “It’s been great because working at such a large-scale event means we’re more comfortable about taking up events with bigger volumes. We were always afraid to do big volume events and sometimes when we’ve got requests for events that are conventions or something bigger, we were always scared of doing them. The race has helped us create a bigger system and have the confidence to take on bigger events.”

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While La Vela has built on the experience of two years at the event, for Canisha Barnes of health food restaurant Pretty Healthy, 2024 is year one.

“I don’t know what to expect,” says Canisha, who runs two outlets from her Miami Gardens base. “I don’t normally do huge events like this but I’m just excited about the experience and for people to taste the food. I am really proud of what we do. When the average person thinks of healthy food, they think bland. But my food tastes really good and I am really happy to have the chance to bring that to people attending the event.”

She’s also proud to be representing the area at the Grand Prix. “It’s so important,” she says. “I am in Miami Gardens, I’m part of it and it’s very important to me that I’m able to showcase myself at such a large event like this, and that it’s in the community that I already do business in.”