What do you get when a Chilean West Palm Beacher and an Albanian-born Italian chef not only fall in love but go into business together? In the case of Fernanda Bruna and Erjon Musaj, the answer is The Daily Focaccia, a sandwich shop and focacceria slated to open in downtown West Palm later this summer.
Bruna and Musaj’s story has all the hallmarks of Palm Beach serendipity. They met at Bice Ristorante, where Bruna was working as a server and Musaj as a chef. While private cheffing for a family in the Hamptons one summer, they made focaccia sandwiches for the son and his friends to take on a golf outing. The young men raved, even comparing them to the viral sandwiches at All’Antico Vinaio in Florence.
Before long, Bruna and Musaj were hosting pop-ups at West Palm’s 123 Datura and other community spots. Now they’re preparing to debut a brick-and-mortar on Evernia Street, where customers can create their own sandwich or opt for one of their signatures.
The couple is committed to organic ingredients and from-scratch preparation—focaccia included. “People thought we were buying the bread, and we were like, ‘Oh my gosh, no! That’s the whole point,’” says Bruna. “Our goal is to make it more gourmet. Every sauce on our 10 signature sandwiches is made from scratch.”…