From Dream to Plate: How Chocolate Chip Bakery Became a Miami Favorite

In her dream, Alejandra Jimenez saw chocolate chip characters that looked like herself and her family, even her dog, and a bakery called "the Chocolate Chip Bakery." After waking up, she was determined to bring the dream to life.

"It felt like the bakery already existed," Jimenez tells New Times. "When I woke up, I was just trying to draw what I remembered."

Jimenez and business partner David Palmo used their culinary experience to open the bakery in 2021 despite the pandemic, nearly a decade since that fateful dream. Inside, walls are covered by chocolate chip characters, and curious patrons often ask the story behind the vegan and gluten-free menu.

While working in New York, Jimenez began developing symptoms that required her to implement dietary restrictions, many similar to those her family members experienced. After the dream, determined to find recipes mindful of dietary sensitivities like her newly acquired dairy intolerance, the couple tried developing classic recipes — many ones they craved from childhood, like chocolate chip cookies — in their home kitchen.

"I'm not gonna sugar coat it," says Jimenez. "It was horrible. Imagine entire trays of failed cupcakes into the trash at 2 a.m., pieces of dough being crashed into the wall, and me crying. It took years to develop these recipes, but we had a goal in mind. We knew exactly what we were going for and the quality of bread we were looking for."

Palmo remembers they would host tastings and small events for friends and family, gatherings that helped develop most of the recipes that are now Chocolate Chip Bakery menu items.

"It was hard, but I get inspired because of what we're serving," says Palmo. "I'm proud of it. I know it's something unique, and you cannot find it anywhere else. Every detail is handcrafted because the gluten-free dough behaves in a very different way than normal dough. We need to hand shape everything."

From the start, they knew they wanted to serve American comfort baked goods with a cooking style and recipe creation influenced by their Venezuelan background. All ingredients are painstakingly sourced to keep quality standards high.
Jimenez says it has become easier to find local purveyors because there are more high-quality options since she began developing the menu. There was a time when simply finding vegan cheese was difficult. Now, the variety of new brands allows them to focus on finding the best quality for the bakery.

Palmo is responsible for developing the savory side of the menu that highlights breakfast sandwiches, the house cheeseburger, and avocado toast. He also devised the recipe for the popular specialty "Purple Rain" coffee prepared in-house with lavender syrup.

Jiminez and the bakers work every morning to make fresh sweets. Some popular items include the Samoa and café con leche doughnut, a variety of cupcakes, cookies, and their top-selling banana bread.

Despite many hardships, this vegan bakery with chocolate chip characters has planted some serious roots in the neighborhood, and its owners can see the impact they've had on regular customers who patronize their humble shop for its dietary-conscious, health-focused, homemade — and, above all, delicious — menu items.

After the success of the gluten-free bread and countless requests from regulars who moved away from the neighborhood, Jimenez shares that she plans to start nationwide shipping soon.

"We connected with so many people," sums up Jimenez. "There's a lot of us into the branding, the characters, the product, a lot of memories. So to see this bakery existing and making people happy is really meaningful."

The Chocolate Chip Bakery. 166 NE 29th St., Miami; chocolatechipbakery.com. Wednesday through Saturday 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.