Coconut Grove was front and center at the start of this week’s Miami City Commission meeting with Monty Trainer and the Coconut Grove Crisis Food Pantry singled out for special honors.
The City Commission recognized Trainer and his community work by naming a portion of Aviation Avenue between South Bayshore Drive and Biscayne Bay in honor of the man who opened Monty’s Raw Bar in 1969 and was a founding member of the Coconut Grove Business Improvement District and chairman and president of the Coconut Grove Arts Festival. The commission voted to co-designate the street as “Monty Trainer Way” in his honor. “I never thought I would see this day,” Trainer, 88, told commissioners. “Now I’m here (and) they’re naming a street after me.”
The commission also honored the Crisis Food Pantry at Christ Episcopal Church in the West Grove with a proclamation. “This is a great example of community, and neighbors helping neighbors,” Miami District 2 Commissioner Damian Pardo said while introducing the food pantry’s volunteers. “They never turn anyone away and they also do deliveries.”
