pineapple grove - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-28T19:23:30Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/pineapple+groveDelray Beach: New ‘Pineapple Paradise’ mural grabs attention with bold colorshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/delray-beach-new-pineapple-paradise-mural-grabs-attention-with-bo2023-05-31T18:07:12.000Z2023-05-31T18:07:12.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}11201983853,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}11201983853,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="11201983853?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a><em>Graffiti artist Marcus ‘the Grabster’ Borges spray-paints part of the ‘Pineapple Paradise’ mural on the building at the entrance to Pineapple Grove. <strong>Photos by</strong> <strong>Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star</strong></em></p>
<p><strong>By Ron Hayes</strong></p>
<p>The pineapples are back in Pineapple Grove.</p>
<p>Welcome them, please, as they welcome you.</p>
<p>In 2008, mural artist Anita Lovitt adorned the east wall of the Chloe Building — now called the Deb — at 135 E. Atlantic Avenue with “Dancing Pineapples,” a quintet of tumbling pineapples.</p>
<p>For the next 13 years, visitors approaching the archway to the Pineapple Grove Arts District on Northeast Second Avenue were welcomed by the dancing pineapples.</p>
<p>Why pineapples?</p>
<p>Today, Pineapple Grove is a neighborhood of boutiques, bistros, galleries and salons. A century ago, it was a genuine pineapple grove.</p>
<p>And two centuries before that, 17th-century traders carrying the exotic fruit from the Caribbean to New England sailed perilous seas. Some sea captains were said to display a pineapple outside their homes to announce their safe return, and to serve pineapples was a symbol of hospitality.</p>
<p>Pineapples symbolize a warm welcome.</p>
<p>But alas, a professional dancer’s life is short, and in the summer of 2021, water damage required repairs to the wall, new stucco and new windows.</p>
<p>The repairs left gray patches. The dancers could dance no more and were retired.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}11202049295,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}11202049295,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="635" alt="11202049295?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a><em>The Grabster used rollers to paint large areas and spray paint for the details on his ‘Pineapple Paradise’ mural, which took about 10 days to complete.</em></p>
<p>Now those “Dancing Pineapples” have been replaced by “Pineapple Paradise,” a new mural by a new artist that’s 30% bigger, filling the entire 88-by-25-foot wall with pineapples, palm trees and swooping seabirds against backgrounds of a variety of colors.</p>
<p>These pineapples grew in the mind of the Grabster, the artist commissioned to bring them back by Lee Cohen — who manages and owns the building along with his family — working with Glayson LeRoy of the Galera Collective, who curated the project.</p>
<p>The proposal was approved by the city’s Public Art Advisory Board on March 27, but no public money was involved. The Cohen family paid for the mural.</p>
<p>And the Grabster went to work.</p>
<p>“Altogether, it took about a week and a half, with some breaks for rain,” the Grabster said one Wednesday morning as he put a few finishing touches on the north end. “The large areas were done with Home Depot latex paints applied with a roller, but all the rest is freehand with spray paint. The closer I hold the can, the finer the line.”</p>
<p>He smiled. “I didn’t want it to look like artificial intelligence.”</p>
<p>Now before you ask, no, his parents did not name him the Grabster. </p>
<p>When not creating art, he is Marcus Borges, 40, from Mineola, Long Island, now of Fort Lauderdale.</p>
<p>“In high school, I was into the whole hip-hop scene in New York,” he explained. “Graffiti, rap battles and break dancing. So, I took the G from graffiti, the ra from rap, and the b from “break dancing” and got Grab. The Grabster.”</p>
<p>He’s been painting graffiti since he was 17, first in New York, “legally and illegally,” and since he moved to Boca Raton for high school and studying painting at FAU, professionally — and legally.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}11202114293,RESIZE_1200x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}11202114293,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="11202114293?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a><em>Clifford, a pit bull/German shepherd mix owned by Nick Elgarresta, reacts to being photographed in front of the mural.</em></p>
<p>As he worked, passersby paused to admire the work.</p>
<p>Roger Caine and his wife, Linda Hubbard, were impressed.</p>
<p>“I love it,” Caine enthused. “The colors, the brightness.” He searched for a word. “The boldness!”</p>
<p>The Grabster did admit to having heard one discouraging word, however.</p>
<p>“Those colors are very Miami,” a passing naysayer said. “They’re not Delray.” </p></div>Business Spotlight: Runway show to kick off Delray Beach Fashion Weekhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/business-spotlight-runway-show-to-kick-off-delray-beach-fashion-w2022-02-02T15:30:39.000Z2022-02-02T15:30:39.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10065402270,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10065402270,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="10065402270?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a><em><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10065402867,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10065402867,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="300" alt="10065402867?profile=RESIZE_400x" /></a>Downtown Delray Beach will be the fashion scene again in late February. </em><strong>ABOVE:</strong><em> A model on the runway at Old School Square during Fashion Week 2020. </em><strong>RIGHT:</strong><em> SuSu Smith models attire from Hy Pa-Hy Ma boutique in Delray Beach. </em><strong>Photos provided</strong></p>
<p><strong>By Christine Davis</strong></p>
<p>Marking its 10th anniversary, Delray Beach Fashion Week will be held Feb. 23-27. The event will begin with a runway show, “Living In Paradise,” from 6 to 10 p.m. Feb. 23 at Old School Square Park, 50 NE Second Ave. <br /> To take part in the Sunsational Shop & Sip, running throughout downtown Delray Beach from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 25, buy a ticket and check in at Rosewater Rooftop at The Ray Hotel, 233 NE Second Ave. Enjoy a continental breakfast with a complimentary beverage, and receive a goodie bag with specials from participating retailers. <br /> Colors of the Tropics fashion show and luncheon will be on Feb. 24, from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Meso Beach House, 900 E. Atlantic Ave. The Sand & Sea Fashion Event will be at 3 p.m. Feb. 26 at The Ray Plaza. <br /> The <strong>Downtown Delray Beach Craft Festival</strong> will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Feb. 26 and Feb. 27 along Northeast Fourth Avenue. <br /> These events, except for the craft festival, require tickets. Proceeds benefit the Delray Beach nonprofit Achievement Centers for Children & Families.<br /> For more information, ticketing and pricing, as well as event details, visit <a href="/DelrayFashion">www.DelrayFashionWeek.com, Facebook.com/DelrayFashion</a>, #DelrayFashionWeek, or phone 561-243-1077.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;">***<br /> </p>
<p>On the first Saturday of the month through March, the Delray Beach Community Redevelopment Agency will host <strong>Crafted on the Ave.</strong>, a new open-air craft market with a Caribbean flavor. The event will be held 1-4 p.m. at the Ida Elizabeth “Libby” Jackson Wesley Plaza, located at the corner of Southwest Fifth and West Atlantic avenues.<br /> Crafted on the Ave. aims to give small and home-based businesses and local and regional crafters and artists an opportunity to promote and sell their work. There will also be Caribbean music and a do-it-yourself station, along with local food and beverages. <br /> Market dates are Feb. 5 and March 5. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Mosaic Group at 561-651-9565, events@mosaicgroup.co or visit <a href="http://www.delraycra.org/events">www.delraycra.org/events</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;">***</p>
<p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10065403867,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10065403867,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}" width="102" alt="10065403867?profile=RESIZE_180x180" /></a>To promote and celebrate black cultural awareness, three nonprofits in Delray Beach — the Community Redevelopment Agency, Spady Cultural Heritage Museum and Arts Garage — are presenting <strong>Authors Speak Series 2022</strong>. <br /> Kicking off the series will be former <em>Palm Beach Post</em> pop culture columnist <strong>Leslie Gray Streeter</strong>, who will share insights from her memoir, <em>Black Widow</em>, at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 10. <br />Streeter moved back to her hometown, Baltimore, two years ago, and this will be her first time back to Palm Beach County. In her memoir, she looks at widowhood through the prism of race, mixed marriage and aging. This event will be held at the Arts Garage, 94 NE Second Ave.<br /> To RSVP for this free Authors Speak event, contact <a href="https://artsgarage.org/event/authors-speak-the-impact-of-race-on-american-society-2/">https://artsgarage.org/event/authors-speak-the-impact-of-race-on-american-society-2/</a>.<br /> Further events in the series are scheduled for April 21 and June 16.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;">***</p>
<p>Delray Beach welcomed the following new businesses as 2022 arrived: <strong>Renata Fine Arts</strong> at 502 E. Atlantic Ave., a gallery; <strong>Beach Paradise</strong> at 533 E. Atlantic Ave., a clothing store; <strong>Meso Beach House</strong> restaurant at 900 E. Atlantic, and <strong>Ardor Boutique</strong> at 1128 E. Atlantic. <br /> In the Pineapple Grove Arts District, <strong>Sugaring Delray</strong>, a health and beauty store, opened at 200 NE Second Ave., No. 105. <strong>The Rové Salon</strong> opened at 200 NE Second Ave., No. 112, and <strong>Lulu’s Café & Cocktails</strong> opened at 189 NE Second Ave.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;">***<br /> </p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><strong>The Seagate</strong> was included in Vogue’s annual roundup of “The 26 Most Anticipated New Hotel Openings of 2022.” For details, visit <a href="http://www.vogue.com/article/the-26-most-anticipated-new-hotel-openings-of-2022">www.vogue.com/article/the-26-most-anticipated-new-hotel-openings-of-2022</a> <br /> Starting in May, The Seagate will undergo a full renovation to the hotel, spa, beach club and country club, led by the hospitality group Long Weekend, the design firm Studio Robert McKinley, and landscape architect Raymond Jungles. The new Seagate will open in phases beginning in November.<br /> </p>
<p style="text-align:center;">***</p>
<p><strong>James Farese</strong>, founder and CEO of <strong>ReachLink</strong>, was selected for the inaugural <em>Forbes</em> Next 1,000 list for 2021. ReachLink is a behavioral telehealth company that offers virtual therapy for mental health and substance abuse disorders. <br /> Clients of ReachLink, which is headquartered in the Research Park at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, include Aetna, United Healthcare and Humana. <br /> “This honor is a reflection of the hard work of our whole team,” Farese said. “As a Boca Raton native, this is also representative of the fantastic environment that we have here in Boca Raton, Palm Beach County, and the state of Florida that empowers the building of social-impact businesses.” <br /> The <em>Forbes</em> Next 1,000 list, presented by Square, consists of 1,000 entrepreneurs and small business leaders who are announced in groups of 250 quarterly. <br /> “As we enter another pandemic year, entrepreneurs and small business owners are finding new ways to thrive amidst ever-uncertain circumstances,” said Maneet Ahuja, senior editor at Forbes.<br /> “The fourth and final class of Next 1,000 entrepreneurial heroes is writing the playbook for not only achieving financial recovery but speeding past it. These sole proprietors, self-funded shops and pre-revenue startups are proving that — through resolve, hard work, and solid planning — anything is possible.”</p>
<p style="text-align:center;">***</p>
<p>In January, <strong>Ruth & Norman Rales Jewish Family Services</strong> announced the appointment of <strong>Aliyah Longhurst</strong>, BCBA, LMFT, as director of the new Toby and Leon Cooperman Therapy & Family Resource Center. <br /> The center will officially open in the spring at 21100 Ruth and Baron Coleman Blvd., Boca Raton, on the campus of the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County.<br /> Longhurst will oversee the operations of the new resource center, which will provide children with varying needs and abilities affordable access to treatment and therapies. Most recently, Longhurst held the position of southeast regional director with Behavior Basics Inc., where her role encompassed providing applied behavioral analysis therapy and overseeing those services across Palm Beach County.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;">***</p>
<p> <a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10065404895,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10065404895,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}" width="104" alt="10065404895?profile=RESIZE_180x180" /></a>The Boca Raton branch of <strong>Wells Fargo Advisors</strong> announced that <strong>Noah Rubin</strong> has been named managing director/investments. <br /> “We are thrilled to add Noah to our burgeoning presence in South Florida, as he brings not only tremendous experience but is young enough for generations of families to trust he will be there to guide them,” said Michael Schwarzberg, branch manager. “He also has an impeccable reputation in the community and industry, even being a trusted FINRA arbitrator.” <br /> Rubin, a certified public accountant, is past president of the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Atlantic Chapter. He earned an MBA in global entrepreneurship from Florida Atlantic University and his bachelor’s in international economics from the University of Florida.<br /> Seven years ago, he created the Noah Rubin Charitable Foundation, which provides grants for local charities. Rubin is active with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. <br /> Wells Fargo Advisors’ Boca Raton office is at 5355 Town Center Road.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;">***</p>
<p>The global commercial real estate firm <strong>Avison Young</strong> appointed <strong>Randy Buddemeyer</strong> as principal and managing director of its Florida region, with offices from Miami to Jacksonville. Buddemeyer joins from Newmark Knight Frank, where he was president of the property management services division.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;">***</p>
<p><strong>Marcus & Millichap</strong>, a commercial real estate brokerage firm that specializes in investment sales, financing, research and advisory services, announced in December the sales of a grouping of residences that are part of the 196-unit <strong>Delray Swan Project</strong>.<br /> The project is being developed by Miami-based Rosen Associates. The eight-property portfolio sold for $4.738 million. Brian L. Rosen, first vice president of investments in Marcus & Millichap’s Fort Lauderdale office, closed on the portfolio.<br /> The single-family home portfolio is part of a 14-parcel development totaling over 2.5 acres, two blocks south of Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach. The project is now in site plan approval. <br /> “There were many challenges in working with eight different owners from large REITs like Tricon homes, which own tens of thousands of units, to individual families that had lived in the homes for decades,” said Rosen. “We were able to offer above-market value even in today’s hot market while providing time for the developer to get their ducks in a row. We structured the deal to give the sellers time to secure new homes and forgo rent during this period.” <br /> The properties are located at 219, 223, 227, 231, 237, 243, 251 and 253 SE First Ave. According to Delray Beach property records, the land use category was amended from medium density to commercial core and rezoned from residential to a central business district.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;">***</p>
<p>For the 2021 holiday season, agents and staff of <strong>Lang Realty</strong> decorated their offices with angel trees with names of people in need. <br /> “This year, our agents and staff identified people in our community who would benefit from this program and might get overlooked by larger programs,” said Scott Agran, president of Lang Realty. “We had angels ranging from small children to grandparents, some of whom never received a gift for Christmas. This project is truly inspired by our Lang team members with the hopes of making a difference.” <br /> Each angel included a wish list for the adoptee to fulfill, and the presents were delivered at a holiday event held at Lang’s central Boca Raton sales office, where the attendees also enjoyed holiday treats. </p>
<p><br /><span style="font-size:14pt;">$75 million listing tops hot month for Manalapan</span><br /> An ocean-to-lake Manalapan estate, “Villa Oceano Azul,” <strong>1400 S. Ocean Blvd.</strong>, was listed in January for $74.99 million. The seven-bedroom, 16,609-square-foot house and guesthouse, sited on 1.85 acres with about 200 feet on the ocean and Intracoastal, is offered turnkey, features two swimming pools, a 50-foot dock on the Intracoastal, and garage parking for six cars. <br /> The owners, Francis A. and Dolores Mennella, bought the estate in July 2016 for $25.2 million, according to public records. The house, built by Dale Construction with interiors by Marc-Michaels Interior Design, was completed in 2015 and developed by Manalapan real estate investor and Mayor Pro Tem Stewart A. Satter, who purchased the property for $6.8 million in December 2010. The listing is held by <strong>Philip Lyle Smith</strong> and <strong>Carla Ferreira-Smith</strong>, broker-owners of <strong>Luxury Resort Portfolio</strong>, Delray Beach.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;">***</p>
<p>The estate at <strong>860 S. Ocean Blvd.</strong>, Manalapan, owned by Dr. William Joseph Gueck and his wife, Mary Deann, sold for $32.25 million on Jan. 11.<br /> Sited on 1.6 acres, with about 150 feet on both the ocean and Intracoastal Waterway, the main house has 8,443 total square feet and the guesthouse has 1,344 square feet. According to realtor.com, the estate features a home theater, billiards room, artificial turf with putt-putt golf course and tennis court, and an infinity pool. <br /> The new owner is a Florida limited liability company, 18500 Von Karman Ave., #600, Irvine, California. Also shown in public records on Jan. 11, the buyer was issued an $18 million loan on the property by a Delaware company named USC 860 S. Ocean LLC, 233 Broadway Suite 1470, New York — which is the same address as Urban Standard Capital, a real estate lender, development and investment firm in New York City. <br /> <strong>Douglas Elliman Real Estate</strong> agent <strong>Gary Pohrer</strong> handled both sides of the sale, according to realtor.com.<br /> The Guecks bought the estate in September 2015 for $13,756,250 from Russian businessman Aleksander Popov. Joseph Gueck is a retired Missouri physician of internal medicine and principal at SurgCenter Development. Deann Gueck is an attorney.<br /> Pohrer listed the estate at $35 million at the beginning of October, according to realtor.com. The house was built by developer Frank McKinney.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;">***</p>
<p>The ocean-to-lake 1960s-era geodesic-dome compound at <strong>1860 S. Ocean Blvd.</strong> in Manalapan, owned by Jeanette Cohen as trustee of an irrevocable trust in the name of her husband, Stephen D. Cohen, has gone pending. <br /> The Cohens’ estate, which they bought in 1978 for $620,000, is currently priced at its land value at $27.5 million. <strong>William Raveis South Florida</strong> agent <strong>Shelly Newman</strong> listed it for sale for $29.9 million in late May 2021 but later dropped the price. <br /> She said the closing date was scheduled for July 8 but may be sooner.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;">***</p>
<p>The late Selma H. Orleans’ estate at <strong>1300 S. Ocean Blvd.</strong>, Manalapan, sold on Jan. 12 for $26.25 million through trusts held by her children, Jeffrey P. Orleans and Patricia Orleans Siegel, in separate deeds. The one signed by Patricia Siegel recorded at $14,437,500, while the one signed by Jeffrey Orleans recorded at $11,812,500. <br /> Selma, who died in September 2021, and her husband, Marvin Orleans, who died in 1986, built the five-bedroom custom home in 1983 on the 1.35-acre lot with 160 feet of oceanfront and 200 feet on the Intracoastal Waterway.<br /> It was listed last October for $27.95 million, according to realtor.com. <strong>Christian Angle</strong> of <strong>Christian Angle Real Estate</strong> represented the seller. Per the deed, the buyer was 1300 South Ocean LLC, a Florida limited liability company, which was represented by <strong>Lawrence Moens</strong> of <strong>Lawrence A. Moens Associates</strong>, according to realtor.com.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;">***</p>
<p>Medical-device entrepreneur Marlin E. Younker sold his Manalapan estate at <strong>1880 S. Ocean Blvd.</strong> for $19 million on Jan. 12. He and his wife, Lynda G. Younker, since deceased, bought the estate through trusts in their names in 2011 for $5.1 million. <br /> The 1980s five-bedroom, 10,200-square-foot house sits on 1.8 acres, with 150 feet fronting the ocean and 150 feet on the Intracoastal. Features include a movie theater, elevator, summer kitchen with pizza oven, 60-foot saltwater lap pool and spa, and new dock. <br /> <strong>Douglas Elliman Real Estate</strong> agents <strong>Nick Younker</strong> and <strong>Nicholas Malinosky</strong> represented the seller. Agent <strong>Shelly Newman</strong> of <strong>William Raveis South Florida</strong> handled the buyer’s side of the sale.<br /> The buyer is a Delaware-registered limited liability company, RX Colorado LLC, which is co-managed by Dr. Ravi Xavier and his wife, Rosemary. Dr. Xavier is an anesthesiologist and president of Florida Anesthesiology & Pain Clinic.</p>
<p><em>Send business news to Christine Davis at cdavis9797@gmail.com.</em><br /> </p></div>Dining: Café Frankie’s changes handshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/dining-cafe-frankie-s-changes-hands2021-09-28T15:28:42.000Z2021-09-28T15:28:42.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9621272460,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9621272460,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="9621272460?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a></strong><em>Anthony Calicchio and Frankie the parrot are ready for a break. </em><strong>2018 file phot</strong><strong>o</strong></p>
<p><strong>By Jan Norris</strong></p>
<p>Café Frankie’s has new owners — a pair of Irish-Italian brothers from Staten Island.<br /> Former owner Anthony Calicchio is happy about the deal he made for his Boynton Beach eatery, and says he’s ready for an extended break. <br /> He explains: “I’m tired. Nobody wants to work anymore. I’m working too hard — clearing tables, filling water glasses, taking orders, running the kitchen. If I keep doing it all, I’ll be dead by the end of the summer.”<br />He is sticking around to be with his parents, who are 87 and 88. Otherwise, he said, “I’d be sitting on an island somewhere in the Caribbean. Any island.”<br /> On Sept. 20, the Brooklyn native inventoried the wines and signed the sale papers, walking away from the restaurant where he spent the past 15 years. He began as a chef for its former owner, the Boys Market group, then bought it two years later.<br /> “We disagreed about the way things were run, and couldn’t come to an agreement, so I had to buy the restaurant to do it my way,” Calicchio said, grinning.<br /> In the immediate future, Calicchio plans to ride off on his motorcycle from his home in Boynton Beach, keep an eye on his parents in west Boca Raton — “I go see them and eat with them every Sunday” — and hang out with Frankie, the yellow-winged Amazon parrot and former ambassador for the restaurant. <br /> The bird was named for the cafe and spent about the same amount of time there as the owner. He perched on the patio, greeting all who passed by with “fugetaboutit.” Frankie was the subject of local news after being lost for a week and finally returned with the help of the police. “He’s my roommate,” Calicchio said.<br /> His long-range plans are for a breakfast or lunch spot, maybe a food truck — something to do with serving food — “in a couple of months, maybe.” Calicchio says food is what he loves, ultimately, along with his work as an artist. He’s sold more than 300 of his paintings that adorned the walls of the eatery.<br /> His mother’s recipes were part of the menu and will still be available from the new owners, Tom and Steve Smith, as will Calicchio’s limoncello and Grand Marnier concoctions. <br /> He says he feels good about the Smith brothers and is satisfied they’re keeping a lot of his menu intact, as well as keeping the staff on board.<br />Calicchio and the staff have been through a lot together, he said, including the pandemic shutdown, when he lost 70% of his business, and the serving of 1,000 free meals since the coronavirus outbreak. <br /> “We never turned away anyone who couldn’t pay. We gave away meals right after it started,” he said.<br /> Tom and Steve Smith agree that a lot of what makes the restaurant a neighborhood favorite is the “good staff, and traditional menu.” Perfect for the area, they said.<br /> “We love it. It’s a tight-knit community,” Tom said. <br /> Steve, 52, will be the co-chef with the current chef, Winston Telesford. Tom, 55, says, “I’m the eater.”<br /> The men had restaurants before on Staten Island — the American Grill and Sea Breeze Cafe. They’re moving to Florida to “get out of New York,” Tom said. They’ll follow a brother, a retired NYPD officer, who moved down earlier, and join their mother, moving soon.<br /> After a brief cleanup and restock, they planned to fire up the stoves and be back in action, keeping the Café Frankie’s name. <br /> New daily specials will be added to the menu, and the cafe will be open for lunch once again, Tom said. The restaurant shut down midday service after the pandemic hit. <br /> Specials may go beyond strictly Italian, with some Asian and other cuisines, Steve said. “We’ll try a few things to see — test the waters.”<br /> But if anything, they’ll add to the Italian menu. They’ll serve Mama Ventriglio’s Sunday Gravy, named for their mom, on the Sunday traditional Italian dinner. “We’ll have all the Italian Sunday favorites — ravioli, spaghetti and meatballs, manicotti,” Tom said.<br /> “We’ll save risotto and osso buco — the real one — for Sundays,” Steve said.<br /> Tom is his brother’s biggest fan. “We’ll put great soups on the menu, too — his soups are amazing. He makes a pumpkin in the hay,” Tom said. That’s a pumpkin cream in a hollow, roasted, mini-pumpkin, with prosciutto-wrapped shrimp hanging from its edges. <br /> Steve plans to change the menu seasonally and incorporate more of Florida’s seafood into it. <br /> “Oh, yeah: We’ll still have pizza,” Tom said. “We love Frankie’s pizza. We’re keeping the pizza chef — Peter Cortes — he does a great job. I’m from Staten Island and I’ll put his pizza up against any there.”<br />Also remaining on the job is restaurant manager Dena Balka, a fixture at the Café Frankie’s well known to customers.<br /> The new owners are happy to be among the crowds relocating from the Northeast, primarily for the weather, they said.<br /> Tom, who will marry soon and set up house in Palm Beach County, says he has a dog named Snow. “It’s the only snow I want to see ever again.”<br /> Café Frankie’s, 640 E. Ocean Ave., Boynton Beach. Phone 561-732-3834; <a href="http://www.cafefrankies.com">www.cafefrankies.com</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;">***</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9621306877,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9621306877,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="9621306877?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a><em>DINING AT THE RAY: Ember Grill is billed as a modern take on traditional neighborhood grill fare with sustainability and seasonal foods. Central to the restaurant’s design is a special wood-burning grill from Spain. </em><strong>Photos provided</strong></p>
<p>Pineapple Grove in Delray Beach is growing up and going luxe with the addition of the Ray Hotel, part of Hilton’s Curio Collection. It’s from the Menin developers — the same group behind the recently opened Delray Beach Market food hall off Atlantic Avenue.<br /> With the Ray, a 114-room luxury hotel, comes high-end dining, starting with the signature Ember Grill, and a rooftop bar, the Rosewater Rooftop, a space that will accommodate 442 people and is designed for small plate sharing and seafood specialties. <br /> Both will be overseen by executive chef Joe Zanelli, new to South Florida, and the Clique Hospitality Group, which is also behind Lionfish on Atlantic Avenue.<br /> The Ember Grill is billed as a modern take on traditional neighborhood grill fare — with sustainability and seasonal foods front and center. <br /> Crabcakes, duck pancakes and charred octopus will make use of the special wood-burning Josper grill from Spain, central to the open-kitchen design. Ember includes a private dining room as well.<br /> At Rosewater Rooftop, five stories up with a 360-degree view of downtown Delray, there’s an “over-the-top” cocktail program to match the shareable plates on the global street food menu. Sushi rolls, mezze, quesadillas and skewers are among the dishes listed. <br /> Canopies and lounge furnishings are set up for gatherings, with the pool nearby.<br /> A special-events facility, a 22,000-square-foot floating glass cube, is another signature of the hotel, designed by Gonzalez Architects.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9621309068,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9621309068,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="9621309068?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a><em>Stingers is a coffee and tea shop offering takeaway foods and drinks.</em><br /><br /></p>
<p>The hotel also has Stingers, a small coffee and tea shop offering takeaway foods and drinks.<br /> Coming this fall will be a dining experience led by Akira Back, a Michelin-starred Korean chef who will bring modern Asian-inspired dishes. He is noted for his Yellowtail restaurant in Las Vegas.<br />For now it’s reservations-only through Open Table at both Ember Grill and Rosewater Rooftop, because of limited staffing and social distancing, said Jordana Jarjura, president and general counsel at Menin Corp.<br /> “Like the rest of the world, we have been impacted by COVID-19 and have not yet met our desired staffing levels,” she said. <br /> Ember Grill is open Tuesday through Saturday for dinner, and Sunday Brunch. Rosewater Rooftop is open for lunch daily, and dinner Wednesday through Sunday. Golden Hour is 4-6 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.<br /> Ember Grill and Rosewater Rooftop at the Ray, 233 NE Second Ave., Delray Beach. <a href="http://www.therayhotel.com">www.therayhotel.com</a>. By reservation only, through Open Table.</p>
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<p>Amar Mediterranean restaurant on Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach has expanded to a bakery, Amar Bakery and Market in Boynton Beach. It offers baked goods and market specialties from cuisines around the Mediterranean. It’s at 1600 N. Federal Highway and open 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Visit <a href="http://www.amar-bakery.com">www.amar-bakery.com</a>.</p>
<p><em>Jan Norris is a food writer who can be reached at nativefla@gmail.com</em></p></div>Meet Your Neighor: James Blumenfeldhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/meet-your-neighor-james-blumenfeld2017-05-31T15:33:45.000Z2017-05-31T15:33:45.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960720889,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960720889,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="600" alt="7960720889?profile=original" /></a><em>James Blumenfeld, co-owner of Meridian Art Experience in Delray Beach’s Pineapple Grove,</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>displays works mainly from local artists and offers services for collectors.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star</strong></p>
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<p style="text-align:left;"> James Blumenfeld and business partner Susan Romaine learned from their first meeting in 2014 that they had a mutual love of art, and their combined efforts since culminated in the Feb. 2 grand opening of Meridian Art Experience in the Pineapple Grove neighborhood of Delray Beach.<br /> The gallery aims to make the middle-art market affordable and approachable.<br /> “Our vehicle is to invite people in to experience original artwork,” said Blumenfeld, a St. Louis native who enjoyed great success in the corporate world prior to this venture. “Our tag line is ‘The fine line of living with art.’ Really just to be able to integrate all the different forms of art — anything you happen to love — into an environment that works for you.”<br /> While it’s been more by happenstance than by design, local artists have played a prominent role in the gallery at 170 NE Second Ave. Romaine, an artist herself, has used her connection in the South Florida community to feature up-and-comers largely ranging from Boca Raton to West Palm Beach.<br /> “I always had a passion for art,” said Blumenfeld, 54. “It started with becoming an art history major in college, probably even before then. I took art history as a survey course to fulfill a humanities requirement. I didn’t really know what I had stepped into, but I just fell in love with it.<br /> “It really was the history of the world, with visual arts as your looking glass. That, to me, was attractive. I love history and I just loved the idea of studying history with a visual connection. So that was the beginning of my love of art. I’ve been an admirer and collector of art ever since.”<br /> A Cardinals fan, Blumenfeld said he also has a passion for baseball. “Most people would never guess by meeting me, with my background and all that, that I’m a big baseball fan.”<br /> Meridian Art Experience is sponsoring a Delray Beach art walk from 6 to 9 p.m. the first Friday of each month. <br /><em>— Brian Biggane</em><br /><br /> <strong>Q.</strong> Where did you grow up and go to school? How did that influence what you’re doing now?<br /> <strong>A.</strong> I grew up in a suburb of St. Louis and went to school at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and then moved back and got my MBA from Washington University in St. Louis. I fell in love with art after taking an art history class in college.<br /><br /> <strong>Q.</strong> What professions have you worked in? What professional accomplishments are you most proud of?<br /> <strong>A.</strong> I had my own company for a short time and then went on a corporate track for a good stretch of time. I went to Ralston-Purina, which owned what was then Continental Baking, which was comprised of Hostess and Wonder. I helped develop Mini-Muffins, Brownie Bites, all of that, and that was great fun. I went to Nabisco from there, helped them introduce some Healthy Choice snacks and crackers. <br /> Then I moved on to Coca-Cola in Atlanta, where I was in the global marketing group and really learned the essence of branding. I was there for several years, traveled the globe and really learned about culture. <br /> Then, for family reasons, I moved back to the Northeast, up to New York, and went to work for Citibank in the late ’90s, when everybody was doing something in the Internet. I was leading a marketing group to create the virtual bank, which ultimately became Citibank.com.<br /> Then I went to work for Ameritrade for a while as chief marketing officer. Then the bubble burst, and the people from Ameritrade wanted me to go to Omaha, Neb., to run their marketing, and I said no thanks. … I took a [severance] package from them and ended up starting my own marketing consulting firm in Connecticut. <br /> My husband joined us a year later and we adopted a son, then decided to move to Central Florida to increase our son’s educational opportunities. He was 6 at the time. At that point I took some time away from the business. <br /> When I went back I ended up running our nonprofit piece of the business. We’ve done work in the areas of equality, education, autism, etc. I’m very proud of my efforts in that area.<br /> I’ve introduced a lot of new products along the way, which has been really fun. I did a Super Bowl commercial for Ameritrade. <br /><br /> <strong>Q.</strong> What advice do you have for a young person selecting a career today?<br /> <strong>A.</strong> I believe people should be sponges; that’s how I’ve operated. You learn from everything, and where there’s an opportunity to take on assignments, there’s an opportunity to learn. And if you do that, it opens up your listening, it changes how you deal with people, if you sort of take that approach.<br /><br /> <strong>Q.</strong> How did you choose to make your home in coastal Delray Beach?<br /> <strong>A.</strong> The big reason was my son, who will be 15 in July. He’s gifted in math and science and we were looking for the right place for him to move forward in his development. Having my own marketing firm made us fortunate enough to be able to live wherever we wanted.<br /> The move to Delray also proved to fit nicely with my own move toward the arts scene in Central Florida. One of the things we got involved with in Orlando was the Flying Horse Editions. Flying Horse is a fine-arts studio sponsored by the University of Central Florida; it’s part of their curriculum. They created a program where they had about 25 or 30 families who paid money, and that would fund three or four artists through the course of the year. Then at the end of the season each family got one piece from each of the artists. So you would get three or four pieces, a numbered print. It’s a phenomenal program. They’ve started doing art fairs and all of that, and I was on their board for a while. That was the early engage for me. I was involved with the arts to some degree up in the Northeast, but not the way I got involved in Central Florida.<br /> I was also one of the members of the patrons committee for the Winter Park Arts Festival.<br /><br /> <strong>Q.</strong> What is your favorite part about living in Delray Beach? <br /> <strong>A.</strong> The weather. I don’t like the cold. I’ve lived in St. Louis, New Jersey, and I don’t miss any of that. My favorite part about living in Florida is watching winter on TV. And I believe summer is the best-kept secret in South Florida. We never get as hot as St. Louis. They have 10-, 15-day stretches of 95- to 105-degree weather. That doesn’t happen here. If it gets to 92 that’s a hot day here, and then it rains. <br /><br /> <strong>Q.</strong> What book are you reading now?<br /> <strong>A.</strong> I’ve just started Captivate by Vanessa Van Edwards. It’s all about social engagement. How to work a room, how to be social, how to engage people. It’s fascinating. </p>
<p style="text-align:left;"> <br /> <strong>Q.</strong> What music do you listen to when you need inspiration? When you want to relax? <br /> <strong>A.</strong> I like country, I like pop, I like rock ’n’ roll, I like my old ’80s music. Any sort of rock, pop, contemporary, country genre. I like the anthem songs as well, especially if I’m trying to be moved or inspired. But I’m generally more moved by the performance than by the music itself. So if I’m at a concert, or if I’m watching TV and somebody is doing a performance, it’s like, wow. So I’m more visual.<br /><br /> <strong>Q.</strong> Do you have a favorite quote that inspires your decisions?<br /> <strong>A.</strong> Two. One I wrote in my high school yearbook. It’s from James Thurber and reads, “Let us not look back in anger, nor forward in fear, but around in awareness.” That to me is how I wish the world truly operated. The other is something I say all the time, an expression I picked up from a friend in Winter Park: “It’s all good.” Not sure who first said it, but it works for me.<br /><br /> <strong>Q.</strong> Have you had mentors in your life? <br /> <strong>A.</strong> Professionally I’ve had them in almost every place I’ve worked. Whether it’s a boss or a peer, usually the boss that has helped and guided me through any career situation I might have in front of me, good or bad. Personally, one of my greatest mentors is my husband, Chris Cooney. We’re good for each other that way, in being able to coach each other. And of course, my parents; they did a lot for me. Family means a lot to me.<br /><br /> <strong> Q.</strong> If your life story were made into a movie, who would you want to play you?<br /> <strong> A.</strong> I’d love to have Brad Pitt do it, but more realistically it’s probably Stanley Tucci.</p></div>Business Spotlight: Monogram Closet moving to letter-perfect new digshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/business-spotlight-monogram-closet-moving-to-letter-perfect-new-d2015-07-29T15:06:19.000Z2015-07-29T15:06:19.000ZChris Felkerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ChrisFelker<div><p style="text-align:center;"><em><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960597489,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960597489,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="496" alt="7960597489?profile=original" /></a></em><em>Sabrina Amelung poses outside The Monogram Closet in Delray Beach.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star</strong></p>
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<p style="text-align:left;"><strong>By Scott Simmons</strong><br /><br /> You could call Sabrina Amelung a Delray Beach pioneer.<br /> Twelve years ago, long before Pineapple Grove had evolved into the hip area it is today, she opened The Monogram Closet, specializing in stitching initials onto clothing and accessories.<br /> Come Aug. 3, she hopes to open in a 1930 cottage that was moved to Delray Beach’s next retail frontier, the West Settlers Historic District, on Northwest Fifth Avenue, about two blocks west of the Tennis Center and a block north of Atlantic Avenue.<br /> Amelung is banking on the change.<br /> “Pineapple Grove didn’t look like it does now,” she said. <br /> Many of the mixed-use buildings that now line Northeast Second Avenue were mere dreams in the minds of builders.<br /> And there was a lot more parking.<br /> Now?<br /> “We hear it every day. ‘Can you hurry because I’m double-parked?’ ” she said.<br /> And she’d have to remind customers that you can’t hurry custom orders.<br /> That includes monograms on purses, tote bags, shirts, baby blankets — just about anything onto which you can stitch the fanciful initials.<br /> It seems like a natural for Delray Beach and the towns along the barrier island, but The Monogram Closet was one of the first stores to specialize in personalizing apparel in southern Palm Beach County.<br /> “When I opened, no one knew about us. There was nothing around me in Pineapple Grove. We just kind of cultivated our customers,” Amelung said.<br /> And now? <br /> “All day long, we sell baby items. Monogramming tends to be more of a preppy look, but even if you’re not preppy, people still like to use it on baby blankets and totes,” she said. <br /> “What’s super hot? Initials on purses, more so than on tote bags. Walking around with your initial purse is very hot now.”<br /> Of course, that’s what Amelung carries as well.<br /> “I carry everything I sell on me at all times,” she said laughing.<br /> The shortcut Amelung took from Pineapple Grove to hop onto Interstate 95 led her to the cottage she is transforming into a store.<br /> “I kept cutting through that little strip just to jump on 95. Those two little cottages are cute. I saw a for-lease sign. It was a CRA property and they had done it head to toe,” she said. “I liked everything they said about rezoning the area.”<br /> The city’s Community Redevelopment Agency has been working to revitalize the Atlantic Avenue corridor between Swinton Avenue and I-95. This building was part of that effort.<br /> “I would have signed as long a lease as they would given me,” Amelung said. Her current lease for the CRA-owned building is four years, with options.<br /> After all, it is the options — and word of mouth — that have kept The Monogram Closet going for 12 years.<br /> “I had a lady pop in yesterday. She had flown in from Baltimore. She had seen a tote bag that was monogrammed and asked the lady where she got it. And the lady very nicely told her,” Amelung said.<br /> And just like that, The Monogram Closet gained a new customer.<br /><br /> <em>The Monogram Closet opens Aug. 3 at 182 NW Fifth Ave., Delray Beach. For details, call 921-0236 or visit <a href="http://www.monogramcloset.com">www.monogramcloset.com</a>.</em></p></div>Delray Beach: Foreclosure threatens Artists Alley; city ponders actionhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/delray-beach-foreclosure-threatens-artists-alley-city-ponders-act2014-12-04T16:33:01.000Z2014-12-04T16:33:01.000ZChris Felkerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ChrisFelker<div><p><strong>By Tim Pallesen</strong><br /><br /> Delray Beach might lose Artists Alley, the unique arts district that the mayor says “has been so important for the renaissance of this city.”<br /> Artists work in warehouse studios along the railroad tracks near Pineapple Grove. But the warehouses will be sold at a Feb. 23 foreclosure auction.<br /> The artists, fearing that a new owner will bulldoze their studios, have pleaded with the city for help.<br /> Mayor Cary Glickstein accepted the challenge at a Nov. 13 workshop, but the city can’t stop the auction.<br /> “We may get lucky with someone at the foreclosure who likes the property as it is,” Glickstein told commissioners. “But it is incumbent on us not to leave it to chance.”<br /> Glickstein is exploring whether the city and its Community Redevelopment Agency could be one of the bidders at the foreclosure auction. The CRA is already spending $3.5 million in improvements for the arts district.<br /> The property’s $4.2 million appraised value concerned Commissioner Jordana Jarjura. “There are a lot of things we would like to do, but I don’t know if we have enough money,” she said.<br /> “We have the capacity to borrow,” Glickstein replied, suggesting that the city could acquire the property, impose deed restrictions to preserve it as an arts district, and then resell it.<br /> As the city struggles to find a solution, the news that Artists Alley might be demolished has caused alarm in the arts community.<br /> “Artists Alley is an enormous asset to Delray Beach and the county,” said Marilyn Bauer, marketing director for the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County. <br /> “Artists come together in this great place to make art and welcome the community in to see it,” Bauer said. “To lose this would be a terrible shame.”<br /> The city’s new planning and zoning director, Dana Little, joined the concern after his first visit to observe the artists at work.<br /> “Frankly, I was blown away,” Little reported back to commissioners. “It’s an extraordinary array of different artists. The quality of their work is just stunning.”<br /> Glickstein met with the artists again on Nov. 26.<br /> “We’re going to make it work some way, somehow,” the mayor assured them before Thanksgiving.</p></div>Savor the Grove: Pineapple Grove, Delray Beachhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/savor-the-grove-pineapple-grove-delray-beach2011-11-02T18:49:16.000Z2011-11-02T18:49:16.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><em><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960359454,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-full" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960359454,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="360" alt="7960359454?profile=original" /></a>Chairs Brooke Qualk (l), Kristin Calder and Caron Dockerty present Savor the Grove from 6-9 pm Nov. 10.</em> <br /><em>The event is presented in honor of the Junior League of Boca Raton’s 40th anniversary and brings together restaurants in The Esplanade Shopping Center in Delray Beach’s Pineapple Grove area to showcase the JLBR’s James Beard Award-winning Savor the Moment cookbook.</em> <br /><em>JLBR members will prepare appetizers from the cookbook with additional appetizers provided by Christina’s and Mings. Dolce Amore will provide a family-style meal at a dining table with seating for 100 in the Treasures4Charity parking lot. Cupcake Couture is providing desserts. Most of the other Esplanade retailers will participate in various ways.</em> <br /><em>Tickets are $40 and a donation to Treasures4Charity to benefit JLBR. There will be a cash bar, cash raffles and cash shopping. Seating is limited. Tickets available through the Junior League of Boca Raton at <a href="http://www.jlbr.org">www.jlbr.org</a>. Photo provided</em></div>