Village People: Another Day in Paradise for Spencer Morrison

Morrison, the front desk supervisor at Grove Towers on South Bayshore Drive, celebrated 35 years on the job this month, establishing a legacy nearly as iconic as the building itself.

Perched behind the front desk at Grove Towers in Coconut Grove, Spencer Morrison waits at the ready for whatever may be asked of him that day. 

It’s often the same tasks: signing off on deliveries, monitoring security cameras, and greeting condominium residents on their way in or out of the building.

To Morrison, it’s another shift at the best job ever.

“Another day in paradise!” he exclaims to anyone walking by.

People rushing out the door for work pause to wave goodbye or look up from their phones to smile. Some stop for a chat.

Morrison, with his signature catchphrase and unrelenting enthusiasm, has become a part of their daily routine.

“There’s a wonderful sense of continuity and belonging to have a Spencer at your front door whenever you come home,” said Chris McAliley, who has lived in the building since 2012.

For most residents, that’s all they have ever known. Morrison has been behind the desk for nearly as long as the building has towered over South Bayshore Drive, starting his first shift just eight years after the residence opened in 1982.

This month, he celebrated his 35th anniversary with Grove Towers, which he calls “one of the best buildings in the South.”

“I feel like I’m still on Cloud Nine. It’s like I’m dreaming to see by the help of the good God. He gave me the health and the strength to survive 35 years here,” Morrison said.

As residents come and go and new condos spring up around him – Morrison, dressed in his standard black suit and tie – remains an institution.

“He is the soul of the building,” said Sam Blum, a resident of 26 years.

Morrison immigrated to the United States in 1984 with his family from Jamaica, looking for opportunity. He quickly gravitated to Coconut Grove, where he picked up a job as a waiter in a Japanese restaurant.

That’s when he caught a break. One night a family with a dog came into the restaurant. Without being asked, Morrison went to the kitchen to get the dog a bowl of water, an act of simple kindness its owners didn’t forget.

When Morrison went looking for a new job, that family – who happened to live in Grove Towers – recommended him for the front desk position. He got the job and never looked back.

Ever since, Morrison has become the face of Grove Towers, the person who embodies the spirit that connects the people who live in the building’s 99 units. “It’s a big family of people, and he really exemplifies it more than anybody,” Blum said.

At 70 years old, Morrison still makes it his mission to know every resident in the building, asking about their family, career and well-being. Making people feel at home quickly is his specialty.

When Scott Meyer, the building’s board president, first moved here, it was Morrison who opened the door. “The first character I met was Spencer and oh my God,” said Scott. “Just a huge personality.”

In a job where he could fade into the background, simply buzzing people into the tower, Morrison stands out.

“He was made for this kind of role and he makes the job even bigger than anyone else does. He’s like an ambassador for the building,” McAliley said.

Morrison fills his time reading books on hospitality and the art of service, always learning how he can improve his craft – what residents say is a rare type of ambition. 

They often call on him for favors as well – dropping a resident’s car off at an auto center or running it when they are out of town, or keeping an eye out for an important package – all of which he’s happy to do.

“The residents pay my salary, so every day when I come to work I give it 110%,” Morrison said.

But it’s never been about the salary for Morrison. In all 35 years, he’s never once considered leaving.

“I like people. I’m a people person, and I love my job so much. They always have the best residents and visitors, even the workers that come to work in the building,” he said.

The people of Grove Towers return that affection. 

Some show it with unexpected perks — like discounts at Versace or by booking Morrison for commercial acting gigs. Others make time to talk with him each week. And those who move out of the building often call to check in or send Christmas cards year after year.

Knowing his impact on people’s lives make’s Morrison’s work all the more important to him. Even when he’s not on property and with his family up in North Miami, work is on his mind.

“I still think about Grove Towers because I want to make sure everything is good,” he said. “I would come seven days a week.”

Morrison even rode out a storm for tower residents, volunteering to stay in the building during Hurricane Wilma in 2005. Morrison worked overnight to serve the residents who didn’t evacuate and to monitor the building.

“He’s always here,” said Lizeth Franco, the building’s manager.

Morrison doesn’t plan to change that anytime soon. Retirement, well deserved at his age, is not on the horizon. 

“When I die,” he said.