Take some time to stop and smell the village
I had such a nice time in the Grove the other day and it's all because I know people and know the neighborhood and maybe that is how we need to promote Coconut Grove -- as a place where everybody knows your name.
I popped into the Antique Market at Mayfair and kibitzed a bit and then stopped by Johnny's jewelry kiosk, next door, to chat. After that, I met up Gigi and we went to the Cheesecake Factory, where we had a long leisurely lunch. Our waiter Allan was very patient with us, we could get loud and crazy at times. But we all had a good time, including Allan.
After a long lunch, we brought Louis, the Grove Ambassador, a slice of cheesecake as a little surprise and then walked down to Commodore Plaza, where we hung out at The Loft, with Yvonne, for awhile. People would go in and out of LoKal, the burger joint, next door, and we visited with them, Brian, from Barracuda, pulled up on his motorcycle to say hello, and the guys from LoKal come out and spent time -- the owners, the chefs, the staff -- it's a lively little corner these days.
From there we went across the street to one of the hair salons (for the girls, not me), where they spent time getting their "hair did." As I hung around, I met a fan, David, from The Brickell Reporter, who was going door to door, selling ads. Alas, he got no play, no one in the Grove seems to want to advertise these days. Not even with me. But we visited for awhile. I also stood outside a bit and talked with friends who walked by. It was a nice day, one of those coolish, overcast days, that looks like it might snow.
After the girls were through, we walked back towards CocoWalk and checked out the new Tervis Tumbler store, Gigi liked the Charlie Brown stuff. From there we went to the Coconut Grove Arts Festival Gallery and visited Monty and crew who were getting ready for next month's big event. People came and went from the gallery and we visited with them. From there we finally called it a day, it was about 6 pm by then. It started with lunch at 1 pm and ended at 6 pm. We ate, shopped and visited in all that time and it's shame that most people don't do that.
People stop me on the street all the time and they want to talk about the trees, store closings and various things going on around the village, so they do care about what's up here, but they also don't really take the time to savor the village. Maybe they do, but not enough do.
Yvonne kept asking me, "Aren't you lucky to be spending this time with us? Look at all the fun we are having!" And I had to actually remind her that I do this almost daily, with a few meetings thrown in like Bed Race, 4th of July, Mad Hatter and so on. She is the one who is usually cooped up in her store and I am usually out and about and doing this. If more people took the time to enjoy the village and leave their stores and homes and just explore, it might change the complexion around here. Maybe not. Who knows?
I popped into the Antique Market at Mayfair and kibitzed a bit and then stopped by Johnny's jewelry kiosk, next door, to chat. After that, I met up Gigi and we went to the Cheesecake Factory, where we had a long leisurely lunch. Our waiter Allan was very patient with us, we could get loud and crazy at times. But we all had a good time, including Allan.
After a long lunch, we brought Louis, the Grove Ambassador, a slice of cheesecake as a little surprise and then walked down to Commodore Plaza, where we hung out at The Loft, with Yvonne, for awhile. People would go in and out of LoKal, the burger joint, next door, and we visited with them, Brian, from Barracuda, pulled up on his motorcycle to say hello, and the guys from LoKal come out and spent time -- the owners, the chefs, the staff -- it's a lively little corner these days.
From there we went across the street to one of the hair salons (for the girls, not me), where they spent time getting their "hair did." As I hung around, I met a fan, David, from The Brickell Reporter, who was going door to door, selling ads. Alas, he got no play, no one in the Grove seems to want to advertise these days. Not even with me. But we visited for awhile. I also stood outside a bit and talked with friends who walked by. It was a nice day, one of those coolish, overcast days, that looks like it might snow.
After the girls were through, we walked back towards CocoWalk and checked out the new Tervis Tumbler store, Gigi liked the Charlie Brown stuff. From there we went to the Coconut Grove Arts Festival Gallery and visited Monty and crew who were getting ready for next month's big event. People came and went from the gallery and we visited with them. From there we finally called it a day, it was about 6 pm by then. It started with lunch at 1 pm and ended at 6 pm. We ate, shopped and visited in all that time and it's shame that most people don't do that.
People stop me on the street all the time and they want to talk about the trees, store closings and various things going on around the village, so they do care about what's up here, but they also don't really take the time to savor the village. Maybe they do, but not enough do.
Yvonne kept asking me, "Aren't you lucky to be spending this time with us? Look at all the fun we are having!" And I had to actually remind her that I do this almost daily, with a few meetings thrown in like Bed Race, 4th of July, Mad Hatter and so on. She is the one who is usually cooped up in her store and I am usually out and about and doing this. If more people took the time to enjoy the village and leave their stores and homes and just explore, it might change the complexion around here. Maybe not. Who knows?
posted by Tom Falco at 7:30 AM
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