Deli Lane Café, the South Miami brunch institution that has occupied its Dorn Avenue spot since 1988, is spending its final summer at 7230 SW 59th Ave. before relocating to the century-old Dorn Brothers bank building up the street.

Co-owners Jahn Kirchoff and Mike Maler have secured space in the 1926 bank building at 5900–5904 Sunset Drive, with the new location slated to open in 2027, Miami New Times reported. The current building will be demolished to make way for Avalon South Miami II, a 16-story, roughly 251-unit apartment tower proposed by Virginia-based AvalonBay Communities.

Before that transition, Deli Lane is packing August with community programming, according to Community Newspapers.

Through Aug. 14, teachers who show a valid school ID get 10% off their entire check and a free mimosa. Sunset Tavern, the bar side of the operation, is hosting live music on weekends throughout the month with a lineup that includes Nicolle Chirino, Soul Travelers, Boys Don't Cry and Charles Corbin Peters. On Wednesday, Aug. 26, the restaurant will hold a Yappy Hour for National Dog Day, with happy hour pricing on food and drinks and a surprise for dogs.

The events amount to a farewell lap at a location Kirchoff reflected on in a June SOMI Magazine feature: "10,000 employees, served 10 million meals and endless smiles and families," he said, summarizing nearly four decades of business.

A vault-to-vault move

The relocation carries a layer of local irony. Kirchoff's current office sits inside the vault of the old South Miami Post Office, where Deli Lane has operated since its founding. The new home is the Dorn Brothers bank building, whose vault was never used after the structure was badly damaged in the September 1926 hurricane. The bank never opened.

Kirchoff described the move as going from "one vault to another" in the same June SOMI Magazine piece.

The Dorn Brothers Buildings, designated a historic site in 2005, were excluded from AvalonBay's roughly $22 million block acquisition, according to Hoodline. The Amster family trust, which has owned the buildings since 1958, is helping facilitate Deli Lane's transition, according to SOMI Magazine.

The South Miami City Commission approved a development agreement for Avalon South Miami II on Feb. 17. Additional permits and city approvals are still needed before demolition or construction begins. Coral Gables-based Corwil Architects is designing the tower, which would include ground-floor retail, a sixth-floor pool and 414 parking spaces.

No confirmed demolition start date has been publicly announced. The new Deli Lane is slated to open in 2027.