Abbott Florist, the family-run shop at 1008 71st Street, has been in business since 1990 and is marking 36 years. Down the street, Aurora Boutique cuts the ribbon on a new café on Thursday, November 12. In between are a Turkish restaurant, a wine shop and a neighborhood bar, all facing Normandy Fountain. This fall they also face a state road crew. The Florida Department of Transportation began repaving 71st Street in July 2026, from Bay Drive East to Collins Avenue, and expects to finish in early 2027.
Nearly every event on North Beach's November calendar comes back to those few blocks. The construction and the holiday season are on the same street. For the next seven weeks, the shops inside the work zone are also the ones hosting the season.
Six Businesses Inside One Work Zone
Here's who is on the block, and how long each has been in business there.
| Business | Address | What it is | Open since |
|---|---|---|---|
| SUMAK | 908 71st Street | 120-seat Turkish restaurant, indoor and outdoor | April 2024 |
| Bob's Your Uncle | 928 71st Street | Neighborhood bar across from the fountain | 2019 |
| Normandy Gourmandy | 932 71st Street | Wine, cheese and cured-meat emporium | July 2023 |
| Abbott Florist | 1008 71st Street | Family-owned florist | In business since 1990 |
| Aurora Boutique | 1040 71st Street | Locally woman-owned fashion shop, Brazilian and Italian influences | 2018 |
| Aurora Cafe | 1040 71st Street | New café added by the boutique | New; ribbon cutting set for November 12, 2026 |
The list runs from a business founded in 1990 to one celebrating its ribbon cutting this month. Bob's Your Uncle, SUMAK, Normandy Gourmandy and Aurora Boutique all opened in 2018 or later. Miami New Times covered SUMAK's opening in April 2024. It describes the menu as Turkish, with dishes drawing on Aegean, Anatolian and Mediterranean origins. Bob's Your Uncle opened its Miami Beach location across from Normandy Fountain in 2019, Community Newspapers reported.
The Normandy Fountain Business Association ties these businesses together. It programs the plaza at 7802 Rue Vendome, including a free monthly weekend movie night with the Miami Film Festival.
What the State Is Doing to 71st Street, and When
The FDOT project page describes a full repaving and restriping. The work also covers upgraded signals, a new video detection system, ADA curb ramps and signals, and new crosswalks at every intersection between Bay Drive East and Harding Avenue. Secret Miami put the cost at $2.2 million. All six businesses in the table sit within that intersection range, so the new crosswalks are going in right outside their doors.
FDOT's posted closure windows:
- Eastbound, one lane: 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 7 p.m. to 8 a.m. Friday and Saturday
- Eastbound, two lanes: overnight, 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, and midnight to 8 a.m. Friday and Saturday
- Westbound, one lane: 9:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. Friday and Saturday
- Both directions, one lane: 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. every day
- Side streets, one lane: 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily
FDOT says these windows are not continuous closures, and it lists them for non-event days. The plaza's holiday events are all evening events, so the street's event days and its work days fall on the same calendar.
A Boutique Adds a Café
Aurora Boutique, at 1040 71st Street, was established in 2018. The Normandy Fountain Business Association is spotlighting its new Aurora Cafe on Thursday, November 12. A cocktail reception runs from 5:30 to 7 p.m., with coffee-inspired cocktails and light bites, and the ribbon cutting is at 6:30. The association asks guests to RSVP at 404-423-2354.
This is a small-scale opening. The owner is expanding a shop she already runs, and she's doing it in the middle of a road project rather than waiting for it to end.
The Shop Hop Sends Its Ticket Money to the Block
The NoBe Shop Hop on Thursday, November 19, makes the link between the construction and the calendar plain. The business association and the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce are running it from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. A $20 ticket gets you free bites, drinks and swag at participating local businesses, including Bob's Your Uncle, Abbott Florist, SUMAK, Normandy Gourmandy and Aurora Boutique. According to the association's event listing, all the ticket money goes back to the participating businesses.
All five of those named participants appear in the table above, at addresses along the stretch FDOT is rebuilding. At 7:30 the hopping ends and the plaza hosts a free concert by Alexander Zenoz and his band, the Birds of Paradise. The concert runs until 8:30.
Three Lightings on One Plaza
Ten days later, on Sunday, November 29, the plaza hosts the association's annual Festival of Lights from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Pastor Kipp of St. John's on the Lake lights the Christmas tree with help from the Miami Beach Police Department. Rabbi Hadar of Temple Moses lights the Normandy Menorah. Mayor Meiner lights the Normandy Fountain itself.
The association books the music with the SoBe Jazz Fest. This year's lineup is vocalist Ari Reinoso and Lindsey Alley, a former Mouseketeer with Broadway, TV and film credits, who is making her fountain debut.
A church, a synagogue, the police department and the mayor's office all share one evening at a plaza run by a business association. The ceremony brings North Beach's civic institutions to the doorstep of the same shops the Shop Hop supports.
Where the Calendar Goes When It Leaves the Fountain
The rest of the season is spread along Collins Avenue, at the Bandshell and in the hotels. It's still anchored to North Beach.
- November 12 through December 19: The city's No Vacancy, Miami Beach program puts site-specific art in 12 hotels. The seventh edition drew a record 228 applications. Each artist receives a $10,000 honorarium, and $35,000 in prizes are at stake: a $10,000 public prize from the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau and a $25,000 juried prize.
- Sunday, November 22, 7 p.m.: Miami Beach ¡Baila! at the Bandshell. It's a city-sponsored, family-friendly salsa, bachata and merengue social led by Commissioner Joe Magazine, with a free lesson beforehand.
- Friday, November 27, 5 p.m.: A free Thanksgiving Roller Disco at the Bandshell.
- Thursday, December 17, 8 p.m.: The holiday edition of North Beach Social with Mr. Pauer & Friends. Rhythm Foundation produces this free monthly series with support from the City of Miami Beach.
The installations take very different forms. At Eden Roc Miami Beach, Emmett Moore sculpted a knotted stainless steel exhaust pipe. At Hotel Croydon Miami Beach, Justin H. Long filled an Art Deco display cabinet with a fictional collection of undersea relics. Lulu Sanchez built a glowing arboretum of hand-made palms at the International Inn. At Sherry Frontenac OceanFront Resort, Gonzalo Hernández hung seven jacquard-woven banners that spell A-M-E-R-I-C-A in colors drawn from South American flags.
Next on Normandy Drive
Normandy Drive has one more name to watch. Chef Giorgio Rapicavoli's Luca Trattoria is planned for 933 Normandy Dr. Speaking to Miami New Times, Rapicavoli described it as a slightly more relaxed sister to Luca Osteria. The neighborhood around the fountain keeps adding businesses, and Aurora Cafe and Luca Trattoria both chose this corridor while its main street is being rebuilt.
FDOT's timeline says the crews should be gone in early 2027, leaving new pavement, signals and crosswalks outside the same storefronts that carried the holidays. If you own on Normandy Isles or near the fountain and want to talk about how 71st Street's changes could affect your property, Lydia Eskenazi is glad to share what she's seeing in North Beach. Let's connect. Schedule a confidential consultation.
