South Florida

Carrot Express Coming to Hialeah Gardens

Carrot Express will open its fourth local restaurant in Hialeah Gardens with fresh, healthy fast-casual food.

HIALEAH GARDENS, FL — Carrot Express is planning a new location at 7000 Hialeah Gardens Blvd., Hialeah, FL 33018, marking the fourth restaurant for franchisee Alex Maduro. Maduro told Business Debut the restaurant is targeting a June 2026 opening, pending construction and permitting timelines.

The Hialeah Gardens restaurant will be located in a newly constructed strip center currently under development. Construction on the space is expected to take approximately four to five months once fully underway.

What to Expect

Carrot Express is a fast-casual restaurant focused on healthy food prepared fresh to order. The menu emphasizes mostly organic ingredients and offers an alternative to traditional fast food, with an approach centered on speed, quality, and nutrition.

The Hialeah Gardens location is expected to have approximately 53 seats inside. The restaurant will feature the brand’s updated look as part of an ongoing rebrand that introduces a new logo, color palette, and interior design.

Founded in 1994 by Mario Laufer in Miami Beach, Carrot Express was built around health-focused dining long before the category became mainstream. Maduro said the brand’s early emphasis on fresh, nutritious food is what initially drew him to the concept.

“We were a healthy concept before healthy became fashionable,” Maduro told Business Debut. “The idea is to serve fast-casual healthy food to the communities where we’re located, using fresh ingredients made on the spot.”

All other Carrot Express locations are currently corporately owned, with Maduro operating as the brand’s only franchisee. His Hialeah Gardens restaurant will follow the same menu, pricing, and ordering platforms as the corporate stores.

The menu includes longtime staples such as pita melts, one of the original items from the brand’s early days, which have recently been reintroduced as a limited-time offering inspired by the original menu.

Opening Timeline

The restaurant is targeting a June 2026 opening, though Maduro noted that construction schedules can shift based on permitting and inspection processes.