Fresh flavor: Four alumni contribute to campus community with new café near MMC

Affogatos and friendship. Gourmet sandwiches and Panther Pride. This and more are being served at a new all-day café near MMC. The newest location of a South Florida-based chain offers students and locals a place to break bread, exchange ideas and forge enduring bonds like the four franchise owners first did when they met decades ago on campus.

Inspired by the memories created during their college days, the entrepreneurs, who own a total of six Crema Gourmet franchises, are returning to their roots in hopes their latest venture will recreate for others some of the magic they experienced as undergrads.

Danny Mugnai ’02, who hails from Italy, fondly recalls hanging with his friends at GC: “It created a camaraderie and helped us build a network of people that could grow together. It’s a family at FIU.”

Mugnai met Sigma Phi Epsilon brothers Angel Sanchez ’99, Manny Vadillo ’98, and Julio Almeyda ’99 through mutual friends. Sanchez, a special education major who transitioned into the hospitality industry after graduation, became a Crema franchisee in 2021. When an opportunity for expansion presented itself, he says, “I invited my college best friends.”

The group brings a diversity of experience to the table (along with an Italian coffee machine).

Having studied international business marketing and management, Mugnai explains how his skillset helps the team understand the melting pot of people and cultures that coexist in Miami. Meanwhile, Sanchez credits FIU for providing him with the foundation for success, including “preparation, how to structure a good business plan, raise capital and network. I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for the network of people that I met at FIU.”

Likewise, Vadillo, who was a finance major, attributes the success of their ventures to FIU’s rigorous curriculum and supportive professors. In particular, the grand overview that he took away from a business operations course is “something that’s always been with me,” he reflects.

When it came time to decide where to open their latest location, the decision was easy. “We went to FIU. We didn’t have a choice,” he jokes. “Hopefully, this will create another place for [current students] to come study and to eat and to build the same camaraderie that we had when we were students.”

Mugnai’s wishes are beginning to materialize.

Attending the grand opening with her friend, nursing student Lissette Martinez is already planning future visits: “I’m on campus for so many hours, so it’s nice to have a little escape that’s very cozy.” Martinez and fellow nursing student Adriana Jimenez admire their surroundings, complete with white brick walls, earthy wood finishings and green foliage. “It’s very aesthetically pleasing. Very nice ambiance,” Jimenez comments.

Graduate student Anthony DeSimone looks forward to the “sense of community” the café will contribute to, in addition to the tasty coffee.

This business milestone marks a special moment for the four friends.

For Sanchez who grew up in Sweetwater, FIU’s transformation—its ongoing physical expansion and rise in rankings—has not gone unnoticed. “We think it’s absolutely amazing what FIU and its leadership have done over the last two decades. We are so proud to be alumni.”

Vadillo expands, “To be able to come back and build something across from FIU, for FIU—there’s nothing better. Golden Panther for life.”

The newest Crema Gourmet is located at 795 SW 110th Avenue in Sweetwater on the ground floor of an off-campus housing tower that caters to FIU students.