What was South Beach like before curfew kicked in?
Spring-break crowds were starting to grow on Ocean Drive on Friday evening, hours after the city of Miami Beach announced a midnight curfew would take effect Friday night and be in place throughout the weekend.
While the sidewalk next to bars and restaurants on the west side of the strip was packed with people, the mood remained calm in comparison to recent years in which fights, stampedes and shootings soured the party in South Beach during the third weekend in March.
Spontaneous dance circles broke out along Ocean Drive as music blared from boomboxes, attracting small crowds. But the bouts of fun were short-lived as nearby police officers hurried over, flickered their flashlights and demanded that people turn the music down.
The owner of at least one business, Mango’s Tropical Cafe, decided to close up shop entirely in advance of the curfew. The club’s doors were gated shut, and a large sign outside announced that the business would remain shut through the weekend while the curfew was in effect.
Owner David Wallack sat in a chair outside Mango’s on Friday night, observing the scene. He said he feared that if there were a stampede “I could not protect my staff or our customers.” Unlike last year, Ocean Drive remains open to cars, with metal barricades separating pedestrians on the sidewalk from the street.
“It’s very hard on businesses right now on South Beach,” Wallack said. “But it would be much more costly for anyone to get injured at Mango’s because of something I didn’t do because I was trying to make a little bit more money.”
Measures in place last weekend were once again in effect. They included parking closures, 6 p.m. beach-entrance closures, license-plate readers on causeways entering the city and a DUI checkpoint on Fifth Street. A massive law-enforcement presence flooded Ocean Drive and nearby streets in the South Beach entertainment district.
While visitors said Friday they were well aware of the city’s viral marketing campaign about “breaking up with spring break,” it didn’t stop them from coming to Miami Beach’s sunny shores.
Madison Winston, a 22-year-old from Dayton, Ohio, was unfazed by the parking restrictions, sea of metal barriers and heavy police presence.
“They put in these fake little rules, right, but the rules aren’t ruling because I see everybody out here still,” Winston said.
Winston said she attended last year’s spring break and knew about two deadly shootings that occurred. However, that didn’t change her opinion of coming back to party again, nor did additional restrictions that the city put in place.
“I’m not gonna lie, last year it was really crowded,” she said. “But I think they scared a lot of people off. It’s less crowded and cool, but it’s better with more people. I miss everybody coming here.”
Bianca Ward, a 21-yearold from North Carolina, said it was her first time in the city, and while the restrictions are quite noticeable, they haven’t stopped her from having “a blast.”
“We still find a way to make it fun,” she said. “It’s just about who you came with.”
Ward and her friends said they had not heard about the curfew. But they said it won’t dampen their spring break.
“Just now hearing about it, it definitely doesn’t change anything,” Ward said.
Brittani Miller-Gonzalez, 31, was well aware of the violence and unrest that occurred in Miami Beach last year, she said. But with the city’s focus on safety, she felt this year would be a great time to bring her 3-year-old daughter for good weather during spring break.
“I think that sometimes we can’t have nice things and ... restrictions are required,” said Miller-Gonzalez,
who is from New York. “If you look around, it’s very chill. There are families out here.”
‘I DON’T UNDERSTAND’
Along Ocean Drive, there did not appear to be signs advertising the curfew that would subject people to arrest if they were on the street after 11:59 p.m. Miami Beach spokesperson Melissa Berthier said the city had not put up signs announcing the curfew but that there would be “verbal announcements” from police as it drew closer.
Despite warnings over the past year that a curfew was likely coming during spring break in 2024, Friday’s announcement jolted some business owners in the South Beach nightlife scene.
Romain Zago — the owner of Mynt Lounge at 19th Street and Collins Avenue — said he didn’t understand why the city imposed a curfew when other measures seemed to be effective in keeping crowds small and calm.
“I don’t understand why this week they would not apply the same system, the same measures,” Zago said. “What happened all of a sudden today that we have to have a curfew?”
Mynt is open from 12 a.m. to 5 a.m., meaning the curfew will force the club to close this weekend. Zago said the move would be damaging for his business and his employees.
“My staff all live check by check. They cannot afford a week off,” he said. The city, Zago said, is “removing food from our plates.”
Daniel Ribenboim Simon, general partner and co-owner of the Meridian Hotel at 418 Meridian
Ave., was also surprised by Friday’s curfew announcement. His hotel is inside the curfew zone and on Friday, the staff was scrambling to inform guests.
The Meridian is also home to Minibar, a spot that is popular among locals and is normally open till 3 a.m.
“That business will definitely take a significant hit this weekend,” said Ribenboim Simon.