We like it quiet, but we need to share the Grove

The Bookstore's vintage 1940s truck on a side street
is very reminiscent of the old days.

There is a little secret that I think most locals have and that is, we don't really care if people come to Coconut Grove from the outside. In fact, we would love to be insulated and not have outsiders, which I am sure is true of most places where people live. It's not to say we don't want people here, but if we don't own a Coconut Grove business, the slow, quiet village is a plus for residents. But for the businesses that do operate here, we need people to come in to support them.

It's sort of like towns up north like Cape Code, Newport, The Hamptons that only have a handful of residents for most of the year and from Memorial Day to Labor Day, the population explodes. I'm sure that most of the year-round residents appreciate the quietness of the majority of the year, but the businesses rely on the money that comes in during the summer season.

That is sort of Coconut Grove, year round. The locals like it quiet, but the businesses rely on outsiders  along with locals to support them. It's always been like that in Coconut Grove. There is a new restaurant coming to the Grove and I mentioned to the owner that he's lucky that we have all the new office workers here in the day so that he has a lunch crowd. He doesn't think that is enough. With all the hundreds of workers that are here in the day now, he feels that we still need people from outside the area to come in and support his new business.

I had mentioned that a condo builder thinks we need to build more condos in order to support the local businesses. No thanks, we gladly welcome those from other parts of the county to visit, shop, dine and unwind. We don't need more high rises to accommodate the local businesses. I don't even think the local businesses want that. They are in the Grove because they love the Grove the way it is, if they wanted to be surrounded by buildings, they would move their businesses to Sunny Isles or Downtown Miami or Brickell.