Spotlight 179-260203

Good morning. What we’re covering in today’s Spotlight:

Ike’s Food Center: A West Grove Tradition
Construction Noise: More is Less?
The Underline’s New Dog Park

And Then There Was One: Ike’s and the Changing Face of West Grove

For generations, West Coconut Grove was home to a network of neighborhood mom-and-pop stores that doubled as community hubs. Today, it is down to a single grocery: Ike’s Food Center, whose story traces the rise, resilience and gradual erosion of a community shaped by deep neighborhood ties.

By Mike Clary

For much of the last century, West Coconut Grove was home to dozens of small mom-and-pop grocery stores and markets, including some that served as informal community centers where residents could pop in for a loaf of bread or something for dinner and perhaps linger to talk to a neighbor they hadn’t seen for a day or two. 

Throughout the historically Black section of the Grove, shopkeepers mentored neighborhood youngsters, sponsored sports teams, cashed paychecks and even extended credit to customers they knew. 

“It was like family,” says Winifred Pope, who, with her late husband Isiah “Ike” Pope, Jr., for 30 years ran the Douglas Road grocery that still bears his name. 

Construction Noise: Tougher Rules for Longer Hours?

City leaders say they are cracking down on construction noise, but a proposed rewrite of the ordinance would expand the allowable construction workday in exchange for tighter controls on waivers for late-night and early-morning work.

By David Villano

City of Miami officials are promoting recent changes to construction noise enforcement as evidence of a tougher, more resident-focused crackdown.

But a proposed rewrite of the city’s noise ordinance — now being floated to residents and civic groups — would move Miami in the opposite direction in one critical respect: longer city-sanctioned construction workdays across much of the city.

Under the current draft amendment to the city’s noise ordinance, construction in the city’s denser zoning districts would be permitted on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. — one hour earlier and one hour later than under existing rules.

A Bark in the Park

A new dog park drew crowds of people – and their pets – to the newest phase of The Underline on Saturday.

By Spotlight Staff

A new dog park opened over the weekend just south of the Douglas Road Metrorail station in Coral Gables, and the place was packed with people and their pets. The Chewy Bark Park off Ponce de Leon Boulevard near Trader Joe’s is part of The Underline, the linear park-in-progress that begins in Brickell and shadows the Metrorail south to Coral Gables. One of the Underline’s newest amenities, the bark park features trees, turf and hydration stations.

Check Out Grand Opening Photos Here…