Trendy Miami cafe opens new location in Water Street Tampa

Another South Florida star has landed in Tampa Bay — this time it’s a new, health-conscious cafe in downtown Tampa’s Water Street. 

Pura Vida Miami, the popular clean eating restaurant chain and lifestyle brand, opened its first Tampa location on Thursday at 1038 Water Street — the former showroom for Tampa furniture store Dwell Studio. The contemporary, coastal-casual space spans more than 3,400 square feet of indoor and outdoor space designed to be an “all-day destination,” the company says — a space where customers can “gather, work and unwind.”

“For us, growth has always been about finding the right communities where Pura Vida can genuinely become part of people’s everyday lives,” Omer Horev, co-founder and CEO of Pura Vida Miami, says in a release. “Tampa has been one of those markets for us for a long time. There’s an incredible energy here and a strong sense of community that we believe in.”

Horev and his wife, Jennifer Horev, launched Pura Vida Miami in 2012 as a single beachfront café in the South of Fifth neighborhood of Miami Beach. Since then, the chain has grown to more than 40 locations across Florida, New York, California, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Pura Vida has two locations in the Sarasota market (The Landings and UTC) and on in Naples (Mercato). 

Known for its vegan and gluten-free options, Pura Vida Miami operates under the motto “Health is Happiness” and serves up a menu that includes smoothies, wraps, sandwiches, rice bowls and its signature all-day breakfast. 

Omer Horev says the brand’s new Water Street location is only the beginning of its expansion into the Tampa Bay region. In June, Pura Vida Miami announced plans to open a new Midtown Tampa location in the 4,000-square-foot space that formerly housed Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea. 

That location is expected to open sometime early next year, Midtown representatives say. 

Pura Vida Miami prepares its food without seed oils and emphasizes fresh, seasonal ingredients, whole grains and premium proteins, the release says. Offerings include signature avocado toasts, pasture-raised egg dishes, salads, high-protein plates, wraps and bowls, as well as artisanal coffee, matcha, cold-pressed juices, smoothies, açaí bowls and fresh-baked goods. 

The chain’s Tampa debut also introduced guests to Pura Vida Miami’s newest fall menu items:  steak & eggs, breakfast burritos, scallion & feta omelettes, a fennel pistachio salad, the Miami Vice Smoothie and a seasonal Pumpkin Spice Cloud coffee, the release says.