Coral Gables Considers $40 Million Bond for City Hall

Breakfast, chicken vaca frita, ropa vieja and the flan and tres leches are all returning when the Cuban restaurant, open since 1995, comes back this fall at 4612 S. LeJeune Rd. The dining room has been dark since the Coral Gables Development Services Department ordered it closed on Aug. 21, 2025, months after the state temporarily shut it down that June over a roach infestation; a WARN notice filed late that August confirmed 28 of 77 employees would be permanently laid off. Centurion Restaurant Group used the closure to overhaul the room with green leather booths, mosaic tile and Cuban-inspired artwork while keeping the original recipes and pricing.

Carmen Diaz-Padron, president of the Miami Villagers neighborhood association, published a letter in the Miami Herald asking whether resident voices matter at City Hall. She wrote that many of those who spoke in support of the 200-unit, nine-story development allegedly misrepresented where they lived after swearing to tell the truth, and that commissioners approved the property's upzoning anyway. She contrasted commissioners' first-reading statements that the community had spoken with their later position that the body has to decide based on the evidence. The allegations and the characterization are hers, in an opinion letter.

Giralda in Bloom, a canopy of umbrellas with pop-color blossom designs over Giralda Plaza, stays in place through October. Separately, final plans have been approved for Coral Gables Art Cinema to build a 90-seat second screen, the Jessie Fox Wolfson theater, in the adjacent space now occupied by Patio & Things, with an end-of-2027 target.

Businesses and residents will turn on-street parking spaces into temporary public spaces across Coral Gables on Friday, with set-up and tear-down confined to the same window. Applications are closed. Registered spots include No Boundaries Sports at 227 Aragon Ave., the Chamber of Commerce at 201 Alhambra Cir., Park Mobile at 100 Giralda Ave. and Scenthound at 252 Miracle Mile. Amplified sound, tents, grills, vending and food service are not allowed, and sidewalks cannot be used as extra space.

Volunteers can register online to join Ocean Conservancy's annual International Coastal Cleanup at Cartagena Park, collecting marine debris and litter to keep local waterways clear. Volunteer hours are available upon request.