Delivering breakfast, lunch and dinner to surrounding businesses and homes 7 days a week, Motek Café, Miami's newest Israeli-Mediterranean "haute spot," is using catering delivery to take its business to the next level..
Powered by Sauce, which allows restaurants to reduce their 3rd party commissions and regain control of their online business, Motek Café is doing the cooking and letting its customers celebrate the upcoming holidays deliciously stress-free, by way of Sauce's latest offering, Sauce Catering.
Miami is the epicenter of South Florida tourism and a hub for international commerce, making this elevated Mediterranean-Israeli style eaterie a welcomed addition to the city’s diverse food landscape. The name itself evokes a warm and welcoming feeling, as the Hebrew word “motek” translates to “sweetheart” - in the way you’d greet a friend or family member.
Nestled in the historic Seybold Building in Miami’s bustling Jewelry Exchange, this downtown hotspot, offering dine-in, take-out, and delivery is a gem in itself.
Founded by Tessa Levy in June 2020, Motek offers the kind of fast-casual, vibrant atmosphere you’d expect in a Miami restaurant. But, the Middle Eastern vibe, colorful and airy decor, and elevated Israeli-inspired menu gives this South Florida cafe a taste of the unexpected.
When asked how she handled opening her brand new restaurant during Covid, Tessa was quick to reveal her awe-inspiring answer.
“We opened during the height of the pandemic when many restaurants were completely shut-down. We started off just offering delivery and curbside pick-up,” she began, “but even faced with such challenging circumstances, with everything going against us, we had such a strong belief in our product - our fresh food and unique Israeli menu - that was missing in the Miami area.” she continued, “We just knew that once we got our name out there, our menu was so thoughtful, so fresh, and so unique to the area, that people would fall in love with the food and the word would spread.”
And spread it did; as news of the restaurant’s opening during one of the most unprecedented times in food service history created a spark all over social media, it was the food that spoke for itself.
“We decided that since we couldn’t bring the people to the food, we’d deliver the food straight to the people who had the greatest influence on the Miami food scene,” Levy explained.
Sending interactive DIY Kits that contained everything needed to create a traditional Shakshuka Breakfast to Miami influencers, nearby businesses and neighbors created a huge social media buzz. The kit that included a mini cast iron pan, fresh eggs, tomato sauce, and other ingredients needed to make this Israeli breakfast favorite, it was Levy’s intention to spread some sunshine during the darkest days of the pandemic by delivering delicious food and creating an interactive experience that would unlock a connection with her neighbors that would endure long after lockdown.
Attracting an instant following among local influencers, this creative “word-of-mouth-watering” idea gave this Florida newcomer a fast seat at the competitive Miami food scene table.
When asked what advice she could offer to other new or struggling restaurants, Levy shared that she attributes Motek’s success to the following factors:
"We wanted to make sure that if customers are ordering from us twice, three times or more, that the presentation and quality is consistent - it needs to be as good as the first time, every time" Levy explains.
"I was working in the downtown jewelry district for 8 years and was always searching for good Israeli food delivery, but it was becoming harder and harder to find fresh Mediterranean food with high-quality ingredients, and it was especially difficult to find great places that deliver. We created Motek Café to fill that void."
An extensive selection of sweet and savory delights, the menu at Motek Café is a veritable feast of everything Levy was hoping to find, but couldn’t. She wanted to make sure her neighbors would be able to enjoy delicious, elevated Israeli food made with the highest quality ingredients conveniently delivered to their door every day.
With everything from challah to hummus, shawarma to schnitzel, and a Tel Aviv-inspired atmosphere to match, Motek is the fast-casual haute de café Miami was looking for.
Sandwich: served on fresh challah with cabbage, pickles, tomatoes, mixed greens, and harissa aioli; Plate: served with hummus, pita, mixed greens, and harissa aioli
Made Fresh Daily on-Premise, served with pita, tahini, olive oil and paprika
Lebanese grilled kosher, grass-fed beef stuffed pita, served with choice of mixed greens or fries, tahini, and pickles
Thinly sliced chicken thighs served with hummus, served with hummus, mixed greens, amba aioli sauce and pickled onion
Poached eggs, tomato sauce, and za’atar, served with fresh challah
Cozy and clean, bright and beautifully designed, the restaurant’s Middle East-inspired decor serves as one of the main ingredients to the cafe’s success. Levy still credits delivery for a large portion of her business, even as the post-Covid period continues through 2021. Delivering breakfast, lunch and dinner 7 days a week, and of course Shabbat dinner every Friday night, the restaurant’s catering menu is also creating quite a stir.
“We started our businesses just offering curbside pick-up and delivery orders.” Levy offered. “When things opened at a limited capacity in the summer of 2020, we were filling all the tables. But even when we were able to seat at 100% capacity in September, and our dining room was full, delivery still remained 50-60% of our business.” Levy offered.
Thanks to commission-free products like Sauce, Motek Cafe's delivery business continues to thrive, bringing all-day breakfast, lunch and dinner to customers 7 days a week.
With the addition of Sauce Catering, the cafe now delivers stress-free deliciousness to holiday parties, family gatherings, and casual get-togethers.
Shakshuka Breakfast (Serves 15)
Poached eggs in our homemade Shakshuka sauce made from fresh tomatoes, peppers, & za'atar herbs served with freshly baked challah.
Crispy Chicken Schnitzel (Serves 10-12)
Crispy chicken schnitzel on a platter served with a harissa aioli and lemon wedges.
Impossible Veggie Arayes Burger Platter (Serves 12-16)
Lebanese style burger with impossible vegan meat tucked in pita, grilled and served as 16 burger bites with s'chug and tahini.
Arayes Burger Sliders
Wrap Platter
Mini Challah Bread
Hummus Tehina
Motek ’s endless Shabbat dinner menu options featuring dishes like mouthwatering Short Rib Hamin, freshly baked challah bread pudding, crispy cauliflower, kale falafel, Jerusalem bagel with all the fixings, tabbouleh, and chocolate baklava for dessert, just to name a few, takes Friday night Shabbat to an entirely new level.
Going along with its DIY roots, Motek Café carries a full line of pantry essentials, a selection of kitchen must-haves for the at-home Israeli chef. From preserved lemons to pickled cauliflower and onions, customers can order all the fixins’ they need to make dishes like Moroccan Fish or Tajin using the fresh pantry grocery items available for delivery every day.
Essential Pantry Items Made Fresh and Available for Delivery
Sauce Catering even brings Motek Cafe’s deliciousness to the beach!
Customers can place an order up to 7 days in advance and enjoy an oceanside brunch or sunset dinner.
In addition to an array of healthy salads like the Crunchy Cabbage Salad, Zaatar Greek, and the seasonal favorite Fall Salad, overflowing with autumnal delights like candied pecan, arugula and pomegranate, Motek Café offers a variety of meatless menu items including a vegetarian version of the Arayes Burger, Mujaddara (rice and lentil bowls), and Hummus Bowls.
Crunchy Cabbage Salad
And naturally, the “sweetheart” of Miami offers a spread of impossible-to-resist sweets and treats including Rugelach, Baklava, Malawach Churros, and Malabi, an Israeli version of panacotta, made vegan friendly with coconut milk and topped with homemade berry jam.
Malabi
Assorted Rugelach and Baklava
The café’s comfortably pleasing decor, open-kitchen layout, and emanating sounds of the middle east are a welcome place to take a pause from the buzzing business district that surrounds it.
"We designed the restaurant to have a cozy, homey feel,” Levy added, “It was really important to me that we created an atmosphere that speaks to our Israeli ethnicity and offers our customers a place to get away from the hustle and bustle.”
The past year has been full of challenges for the restaurant industry, but owners like Tessa Levy have shown that with the right mix of ingredients, it’s possible to succeed even in tough times.
Motek Cafe is looking forward the opening of new locations in the Aventura Mall (opening in December), and Miami Beach (opening spring of 2022.)
Creating services and dining experiences that keep customers coming back for more is the goal of any restaurant. One way to entice new and existing customers is with a catering menu.
Following on the coattails of restaurant delivery that exploded in 2020, catering has been growing rapidly, and it is expected to grow even more in 2022.
Sauce Catering feature couldn’t have arrived at a better time for restaurants (like Motek) to boost their online revenue during the holiday season.
Just as Sauce Delivery lets restaurants keep hold of their revenues, Sauce Catering offers the most competitive catering delivery rates in the industry today.
Want to know more about how your restaurant can find a brand new source of revenue by adding Sauce Catering to your delivery menu? Go to getsauce.com for more information!