Blvd Bae’s. 7244 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; 786-615-9661; blvdbaes.com.
Café Kush. 7700 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; 305-985-4764; kushhospitality.com.
La Placita. 6789 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; 305-400-8173; laplacitamiami.com.
Phuc Yea. 7100 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; 305-602-3710; phucyea.com. Additionally, guests who post photos on Instagram with the hashtag #findingmimo and tag all six bars and restaurants will be entered into a weekly drawing to win $100 in MiMo Dining Dollars ($20 to use at each eatery).
“People can make a nice little crawl out of it if they want to,” Ani Meinhold tells New Times.
A co-owner at Phuc Yea, Meinhold spearheaded the project. MiMo is a quaint, casual little neighborhood and people should experience its diversity, she says. The vibe is not over-the-top or pretentious. Businesses are owned by locals and eateries offer more than meets the eye. People don’t even realize how many hidden gems there are in the area.
At times, Miami feels like a city that only rarely looks to its past, relishing in the shiny newness of shimmering skyscrapers and trendy hot spots. But the Magic City is also full of underappreciated gems like the Selina Miami Gold Dust, located in the burgeoning MiMo District.
Built in 1957 across from the old Playboy Club, the Gold Dust Motel was at the center of what used to be considered the motel capital of Florida. In its heyday in the 1960s, it wasn t uncommon to spot the Rat Pack hanging around the area. A few decades later, the neon sheen of the neighborhood faded when it became Miami s red-light district, with the motels charging on a per-hour basis. Eventually, developers saw the area s potential, with spots like the Vagabond and the New Yorker undergoing extensive renovations and reopening as boutique hotels.