Cita's is planning for a July opening

Cita's, the new Italian restaurant on Commodore Plaza is planning a July 22 opening.

Commodore Plaza should be called "Continental Plaza" because of the mix of restaurants that are now occupying that one block. You can travel the world by just walking from Grand Avenue to Main Highway and back again.

Fitness Fair today in the Grove

They were set up early for today's Fitness Fair at the Mayfair promenade. Here's Jose from the Academy of Martial Arts. I passed by on my way from the gym. You can also check out some of the farmer's market items while there.

Reggie, from Fitness Together was prepared to give work-out advice.

Here are Diane and Catherine from "Get Fit With Cat."

Patricia is from Mary Kay.

There is something for everyone. The Fitness Fair is on until 6 pm today -- it's shady in the promenade, so you can get out there and enjoy the day without burning up.

And on top of this, they keep raising postage

Harry Emilio Gottlieb made a visit to the post office recently and really took notice of the mess that it is. The Grove post office has to be the biggest eyesore in the Grove.

You see graffiti on the walls out front, it just stays there, they don't give a damn about cleaning it up. The old, rusty discolored mailboxes greet you, all bent and faded.

The parking lot looks like a condemned land fill. The fence is broken, the dirt has been there so long that weeds are sprouting all over.

You'll notice lots of liquor and beer bottles when you pass by. Apparently this is a little party spot after dark.

They killed all the big oaks to plant these straggly things which are a poor excuse for the ones they destroyed last year.

This is the lobby. You enter to see this crap.

The garbage overflows, there seems to be no pride there. The employees apparently just go through the motions. They may be very nice, I don't know because I don't use the post office in the Grove. I avoid it.

They took out the stamp machine and really expect people to wait hours in line to buy a book of stamps. I go to the Coral Gables branch. I can get parking there and it is a pleasure to visit.

Here in the Grove, the ceiling is caving in. I know for a fact from many employees that the ceiling leaks inside and there is asbestos in many areas, mostly in the area that used to be the movie theater. The part you actually stand in now to buy stamps.

I don't know why the federal government is allowed to do this. Grove officials should really step in and fine these nuts. Whomever is in charge here is a slob and should be ashamed of themselves.

Fitness Fair this Saturday

There's a Fitness Fair at Mayfair tomorrow. It's free to the public -- open from noon to 6 pm on the Promenade.

Come out for fitness demonstrations, meet with fitness trainers from Fitness Together and health and beauty consultants from The Center for Beautiful Skin. There will be massage therapists on hand and lots of books and nutrition info. There's even martial arts demonstrations, yoga and healthy food samples.

Birthday wishes

Happy birthday to Douglas Kirn (above) and daughter Jessica Kirn (below), residents of the Grove, who celebrated their birthdays at the Coconut Grove Sailing Club on May 28. Friends and family got together for a Scooby Doo get together.

Here is Pepita, their pet parrot, who goes everywhere with them.

Send us your events in the Grove. We would love to share them through the Grapevine.

Gas stations in the Grove

The BP gas station on Bird and 27th is always out of gas. Three times in two weeks I have tried to get gas and have ended up with none. Everyone is now going over to the Shell station on 27th and US1 and that place is packed. With the gas prices as high as they are these days, it's a shame that BP is losing out on the windfall.

Ironically, BP's prices were very much more higher than Shell's, so it's nice to see that Shell is not gouging and taking advantage of the situation.

Summer Workshop on Authentic Happiness

For those who seek the secrets of living a meaningful life, fleeting moments of pleasure are not enough. Enroll in this six-Tuesday evening workshop, starting Tuesday June 3 at the Arts and Minds Center (3138 Commodore Plaza), to discover the keys to happiness that lie deep within the heart. Each class will explore ways to enhance the heart-soul connection and will open pathways to living one's full potential.

The Virtue-Happiness Connection: Living from the Heart

Starting Tuesday June 3 from 7-9 pm. (if vacation plans interfere with one evening the material can be made up).

* Our multidimensional nature
* The heart/mind conflict
* An urgent call for self-love
* Authentic happiness and a purposeful life
* Emotions as Soul Expression: A theory of excess and lack
* The Language of Resonance
* Virtues: Common definitions and essential natures
* Practices that take us to virtue: the interface of soul and personality
* Dwelling within the realm of virtue
* Passion, will, and the creative life

For further information please email: lindasueedge@yahoo.com

Open U is a part of The International Institute for Human Understanding: www.iihi.org

FedEx/Kinko's is now open for business

Here are Madelyn, Mo and Maria at the new FedEx/Kinko's on Grand Avenue. They opened this week. Stop by and check them out.

I am addicted to the chocolate croissants

Just when I am trying to give up coffee, another incredible place opens in the Grove. If you haven't been to Le P'tit Paris at 3105 Commodore Plaza (at Main Highway), get out there.

Here are Vincent, Regis and Kenia, who really are very welcoming.

Laura is writing down their daily specials. It's a great place to just hang out at a table and visit with friends.

There are so many delicious desserts to choose from (that's Kania again in the center of some of them). Vincent's coffee is to die for. I think I found a new hang out spot.

Party like it's 1899

The Barnacle's popular Old Time Dance is Saturday, May 31 from 6:30 to 10 pm.

Wear comfortable shoes and clothes and come learn to dance the traditional American way: Contras, Squares, Circles, and Waltzes. Instruction is included so beginners are welcome.

Please park on the street or in one of the parking lots around town, then stroll down the lane into the park for an evening of Old Time fun and the tunes of a live Blue Grass band, Mudhole Control and a live dance caller on hand calling the steps.

Gate opens at 6 p.m. Picnics welcome. The cost for the evening is $8 per person; children under 10 are free. For additional information contact 305-442-6866 or visit www.FloridaStateParks.org/TheBarnacle .

The Barnacle is at 3485 Main Highway.

Young Professionals Mixer tomorrow night

The next young professionals mixer at the Museum of Science (3280 S. Miami Ave.) is tomorrow, May 29 from 6 to 10 pm.

Presale tickets are $10 for members, $15.00 for the general public and at the door: $15.00 for members and $20.00 for the general public. This includes an open bar and light dinner. The "Spam Allstars" will be performing.

For more info: www.myspace.com/atmiasci and for info and tickets: 305-646-4209.

I've been thrown out of better places

There are some nasty folks at the John Frieda Mobile Salon charity thing for the Woman's Club. I was chased out after taking this photo of Johnny and Maritza.

I wanted to get their phone number and see how people could set up appointments for the rest of the day, but the rude management there would have none of it. Apparently they want model releases signed to take pictures in there. They are not models. They are hair stylists visiting the Grove for a charity event.

All the Grove residents getting their hair cut were up for my Grapevine pictures. The management was not amused.

Lowe's and Home Depot fight very similar

There was an interesting article in yesterday's Herald about a lawsuit planned against Lowe's to stop them from building outside the Urban Development Boundary -- there were a lot of comparisons to the Home Depot fight here in the Grove.

Our own Sue McConnell and Harry Emilio Gottlieb were quoted in the article.

Thanks to the fight by Sue and many others, the Home Depot in the Grove fits in well. It isn't the mega-structure that was planned and now Milam's will be expanding next door into the Walgreen's space when Walgreen's moves.

Walgreen's has broken ground on US1 and Bird Avenue, they prefer a free-standing store, which is great for Milam's. We may finally have a decent size supermarket in the Grove after so many years.

The displaced artist

Popular artist Jeffrey Passage will be at the Windisch-Hunt Gallery now that Café Tu Tu Tango closed. Jeffrey was displaced after Hurricane Katrina, so he came to the Grove to live and now he is displaced from Tu Tu Tango. But luckily he has a new home at Windisch-Hunt. You can see him working inside or on the sidewalk outside the gallery.

One last tango

Cafe Tu Tu Tango is history this week.

These photos in the slide show were taken over the past few years by AnnaMaria Windisch-Hunt.

Where is the Center of Town?

Many people have a problem with me mentioning The Bookstore all the time and calling it the "center of town." Not sure why.

And why are people comparing it to Books and Books? I don't consider it a literary giant, I consider it the neighborhood bookstore.

I call The Bookstore the "Center of town" NOT the "Center of the Universe" simply because it tends to be a meeting place for many people. And every time I am there, there are many people that I know. I am not saying it is the greatest business in the world or has the best coffee or books or whatever. I simply call it the center of town because it seems to be.

When I walk in, I literally see so many people I know, friends, people from the Village Council or BIC or other merchants from the Grove. It just tends to draw everyone. And they aren't always looking for books, they are hanging out and being neighborly. Although I guess Felice and Sandy would love for everyone to buy books, too -- and coffee and pastries.

Where do you consider the center of town? I don't mean logistically on a map, I mean, where do you tend to hang out, meet people, take visitors BEFORE you go off to shop or eat or whatever. Like if you and I were going to meet for the first time and we didn't have any specific plans of where to eat or drink, etc, I would say, "Meet me in front of The Bookstore."

Where would you prefer to meet and greet before we were off to do something else? Qdboa? Cefalo's? Monty's? Maybe the new Kinko's? The Bookstore just seems to make sense.The walking club meets in front of the Guess store, right across the street from The Bookstore. "Guess" that works for them. Pun intended.

What Coconut Grove could be

I've been on a fact finding mission on Florida's west coast. Actually I've been visiting friends for the Memorial Day weekend, but I've seen some nice things that would be perfect for the Grove. I don't like to usually post things that are not Grove-related, but I have been seeing so many things here that would be great for the Grove.

First off, in Venice, the Venice Little Theatre is what the Coconut Grove Playhouse could be. Last night it was standing room only for two events going on at the same time. They had a Neil Simon play in one area of the theater and in another area, there was a limited revival of the "Rocky Horror Picture Show," which has been sold out for the whole run.

Many of you will remember that Rocky Horror was a staple in the Grove for years, at a movie theatre on Grand and McDonald, which is now taken over by the post office.

There is no reason why something like this cannot be done at the Playhouse -- Rocky Horror once in awhile, revival movies once in awhile, plays and other live performances once in awhile -- things that would keep the Playhouse open for most of the year.

Now Sweetbay. How do I describe Sweetbay. Sweetbay is a cross between Publix, Whole Foods and Trader Joes. It would be a perfect fit for Coconut Grove, the prices are great, there is plenty of natural organic food and it's a clean state-of-the art supermarket.

Sarasota is an art-lover's paradise. From one end to the other there is art. There are galleries, there are artist neighborhoods, there are museums and there is art on the streets. Up and down US41, along the water and the marina, you'll see large, incredible sculptures.

There is even talk in the Grove now about lowering the lights on the light poles for better lighting. In Venice, they have double lights on the poles. One is way up at the top and lights the street, the other is lower on the other side of the pole and lights the sidewalk. I don't have a photo of them though.

Also, there has been talk about artists painting bus benches in the Grove, to add a little color and life. They do that here, too. It really does look good. This one above is painted like a piano. And you'll notice the large yellow piece of art behind it.

The folks in this part of the state enjoy keeping their history and art and they combine them into one beautiful lifestyle. They don't knock down the old to build new, they incorporate the old into their city and revere it.

Maybe the Village Council, BIC and others should take a fact finding tour to Venice, Sarasota, Siesta Key and other places on the west coast and see what the Grove could be. Take me with you please, I'll be your guide.

Busy weekend night

Cabs, rickshaws, we have 'em all in the Grove. Perfect for a romantic weekend night.

I'm lovin' it

I am addicted to McDonald's coffee and their new chicken sandwiches. And I can get them both ways -- hot coffee or iced coffee or a breakfast chicken biscuit or a lunch chicken sandwich. I didn't drink coffee for such a long time, but now if I am not at Focaccia, I am at McDonald's.

And I'll find myself just pulling in any time of the day to just get coffee. I like the iced coffee just black, without cream or sugar and they still don't get that, so I have to repeat it over and over, "Plain, nothing in it, no sugar, no cream." They look at me like I have three heads, but it is so fresh, crisp and clear that you don't need to add anything.

OK, enough of the McDonald's commercial. Apparently not everyone feels the same because I saw this thrown away chicken sandwich in Coral Gables the other day. Right there on the sidewalk. It actually looks like a fish, but I think it is the McDonald's chicken sandwich.

Big splash in the Grove -- up, up on the roof

Today was a hot, hot day -- a perfect day for a pool and right on schedule, the Mayfair Hotel pool arrived.
Virginia Street was a spectacle as huge trucks arrived and reinforced themselves for the actual pool lift to the roof.

The town came out today, to experience a really unique thing.

Finally, after all these years, the Mayfair Hotel has a pool. On the roof!

It reminds me of that "Sex and the City" episode where they are up on the hotel roof enjoying the exclusive environment. I can't wait to get up there and check the pool and the views when the whole installation is complete.

The skilled workers did an incredible job. Now the final installation takes place atop the hotel, out of site.

Next, the designers move in and turn the concrete shell into a paradise.

Photos by Harry Emilio Gottlieb

It was a successful opening night

I sent Sylvia out last night to get some photos of George's in the Grove (3145 Commodore Plaza). They had a huge crowd for opening night. Sylvia told me she enjoyed the food and wine. I think she had too much wine, because aside from these two photos, the rest came out too dark to use.

You can see George Farge in the center of both photos, making the rounds. That's Lee Marks standing in the photo below listening to George's words of wisdom. He really does know how to run a restaurant and throw a party, which actually are one in the same when it comes to George.

Patiently waiting

This PYT waits at Starbucks. In July, Starbucks will be moving across the street to CocoWalk. They will be featuring a wall of art, created by local artists.

Chamber cocktail party on Tuesday

The Coconut Grove Chamber of Commmerce is having their post-election, pre-installation networking cocktail party at Al Fresco Restaurant (3138 Commodore Plaza) on Tuesday, May 27, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm.

Join the new board members on the terrace for a complimentary cocktail & hors d'oeuvres,
additional drinks at Happy Hour prices. Plus there are raffle prizes.

$5 Chamber Members $10 Non-Members
R.s.v.p. 305-444-7270 or info@coconutgrove.com

George's in the Grove opens today at 6:00

George's in the Grove is opening at 6 pm sharp tonight. They have all their licenses and are prepared to serve you. I caught some of the crew setting up the sidewalk. These elegant white sofas will be outside, along with the typical café tables.

Is the poster too funky for the area?

A reader sent this photo in. The poster is in the window of Funky Urban Klothes at 2996 McFarlane Road. She wonders if it is too racy to be next to a church and school (St. Stephen's). And their initials seem to be "F.U." I am more concerned with their spelling. Klothes?

To see it larger, please click on the image.

TreeWatch Committee receives award

The Cocoanut Grove Village Council's TreeWatch Committee has been selected to be the recipient of the Trees Florida Awards Program Outstanding Tree Advocacy Group Award for 2008.

TreeWatch, a committee of the Village Council, acts as a liaison with the City of Miami’s Code Enforcement and Public Works departments, serving as the Grove’s clearinghouse for reporting incidents of illegal tree removal, expediting and following up on incidents that may have otherwise gone unreported, and ensuring that citations and mitigation occur. TreeWatch files appeals to save trees, especially those in the public right of way, which have been issued permits by the City for removal at the request of an individual or developer, and which are healthy and pose no hazard.

TreeWatch was founded in November of 2005 by a group of Grove quality of life activists, including Bob Ferreira, former Village Councilman, and Liliana Dones and Marc Sarnoff, then the head of the One Grove Alliance. Sarnoff and Dones were named Co-chairs, and the TreeWatch was then folded into a Committee of the Village Council.

When Marc Sarnoff was elected as City Commissioner, Liliana Dones, who also serves as Village Councilwoman, and on the City of Miami's Green Commission, remained as chair of TreeWatch. The TreeWatch core group includes Santiago Villegas, Jim McMaster, who is president of another fine tree advocacy organization, Treeman Trust, certified arborists Pierre Sands and Bob Brennan, but essentially, every tree-caring resident of Coconut Grove (and some even outside of the Grove), is an official member of TreeWatch, each applying what they do best to the end of saving the trees which are a hallmark of the community.

The Outstanding Tree Advocacy Group Award is presented in recognition of an organization stimulating landscape beautification, tree planting, maintenance, preservation and/ or public educational programs within their community.

For more information on Trees Florida, visit www.treesflorida.com. For more information on TreeWatch, and the Coconut Grove Village Council, visit www.coconutgrovevillagecouncil.com .

Free haircuts for charity

John Frieda Mobile Salon is coming to the Woman's Club of Coconut Grove Tuesday and Wednesday, May 27 & 28 from 10 am to 6 pm, to give free haircuts by celebrity stylists. This is a fund raiser for the Woman's Club renovations. Tell your friends and make an appointment by going to www.johnfrieda.com/salontour .

This will take place on the grounds of the Woman's Club (2985 S. Bayshore Drive).

George's in the Grove is opening this week

I caught my neighbor George Farge checking out his new place at 3145 Commodore Plaza. They plan to open tomorrow, May 22.