Mixing local businesses and national chains
I was mentioning H&M and the rumor that they are interested in coming to Coconut Grove. I've never been big on chain stores as part of the Grove, but I do think they are needed to drive traffic. They are destination places. People will come to the Grove to shop at H&M.
That being said, I do think our one-of-a-kind Grove-y stores are very important. Where would the Grove be without Grove Ink or the piercing store or the smoke shop or the little one of a kind boutiques like Silverado or The Sale Rack or Golden Bar or The Bookstore or Bianco Gelato or our local restaurants like GreenStreet and Lulu and Mr. Moe's and LoKal, The Grove Spot and Le Buchon, Barracuda, The Sand Bar and and Via Art Gallery and First Flight Out and The Olfactory and Revolution Bicycles. These are all Coconut Grove businesses.
I think a few big chain stores mixed with our one-of-a-kind local businesses is what is needed.
I ran into an older man a couple of weeks ago, we were on Lincoln Road. He has lived in the Grove for about 50 years, he had businesses here. He says the solution to our slow market is free parking. Is it? I mean at this point you have to park all over South Florida, even Wynwood had to cave into the parking meters where for years, there were none.
In most parts of Florida there is no metered parking, in South Florida there is. The Grove has competition now from Wynwood, Midtown, South Miami, South Beach when it comes to entertainment districts. Years ago we were the only game in town. I remember it was Coconut Grove, Dadeland and maybe the Omni. I used to drive all the way up to the Omni on Biscayne Blvd, with my friends, just to go to the movies. It was a big deal then.
That being said, I do think our one-of-a-kind Grove-y stores are very important. Where would the Grove be without Grove Ink or the piercing store or the smoke shop or the little one of a kind boutiques like Silverado or The Sale Rack or Golden Bar or The Bookstore or Bianco Gelato or our local restaurants like GreenStreet and Lulu and Mr. Moe's and LoKal, The Grove Spot and Le Buchon, Barracuda, The Sand Bar and and Via Art Gallery and First Flight Out and The Olfactory and Revolution Bicycles. These are all Coconut Grove businesses.
I think a few big chain stores mixed with our one-of-a-kind local businesses is what is needed.
I ran into an older man a couple of weeks ago, we were on Lincoln Road. He has lived in the Grove for about 50 years, he had businesses here. He says the solution to our slow market is free parking. Is it? I mean at this point you have to park all over South Florida, even Wynwood had to cave into the parking meters where for years, there were none.
In most parts of Florida there is no metered parking, in South Florida there is. The Grove has competition now from Wynwood, Midtown, South Miami, South Beach when it comes to entertainment districts. Years ago we were the only game in town. I remember it was Coconut Grove, Dadeland and maybe the Omni. I used to drive all the way up to the Omni on Biscayne Blvd, with my friends, just to go to the movies. It was a big deal then.
posted by Tom Falco at 5:00 AM
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4 Comments:
The Grove is a fun place to dine and drink and take in a movie. It has absolutely no decent places to shop unless you are a teen or a hippie type. Small boutiques with interesting clothes are desperately needed in the Grove.
The Grove could be resurrected if the legalize weed in Florida. Led by the Piercing and Smoke shops, best pricing and variety East of the Rockies!
The problem is that we lost our galleries and the vibe of the Grove due to high rents. Many of the locals do not realize just how many boutiques are situated in the Village because they no longer walk around the streets and support the local stores.If the many people that call Coconut Grove home do not care enough to help the mom and pop shops by using them then why should the owners try to keep the Grove eclectic.
The high rents seem to be a problem everywhere: example: Trillions of cyclists plus tourists go to Key Biscayne every day. We used to stop by "La Carreta" en masse, seemed like good business..
They shut that down and now cyclists pour into a half-destructed little place, "Oasis", or a freaking 7/11. Everything around there is "for lease". Astronomical prices.
I wonder what the real deal is: those places stay closed, "for rent" for years and years.. wouldn't it be better to at least get something, with lower rents? Guess not. Go figure...
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