The coronavirus may have temporarily shut down “non-essential” businesses since March, but it hasn’t stifled the creativity of Main Street retailers whose customers want to remain fashionable, even if they’re spending most of their time “safer at home.” A presence in Miami Lakes for 25 years, Drop Boutique has shifted from greeting customers at the store to selling them clothing and accessories through a website and on Instagram. “It...

All of the library’s monthly courses are normally listed in these pages. But during the coronavirus pandemic, all of the branches in the county library system are closed and programming is canceled. Until libraries reopen, due dates are extended and late fees won’t be charged, the county said. Readers can download ebooks, audio books, movies and music at mdpls.org. If you relied upon the library to access the internet, you...

During the coronavirus pandemic, when many businesses are not allowed to open and are struggling to survive after being locked down for six weeks or so, there is encouraging activity at the Cypress Village Shopping Center in Miami Lakes. On April 24, a man in a bucket truck was installing the sign for a new restaurant called DICED Food you can trust! And there was more construction happening across the shopping plaza. At the...

The Florida Small Business Development Center at Florida International University is offering free guidance to companies seeking access to disaster capital that is being offered by the state and federal governments. More than 82,000 small businesses employ 53.3 percent of people working in Miami-Dade County, the school said a recent study found. FIU’s consultants will help firms affected by the coronavirus apply for the Paycheck...

A dating app led two strangers to Vie de France Bakery & Café. And after 12 months, they returned once more to the shop on Main Street in Miami Lakes, this time as lovers. “Being in the exact place a year later reminded us to live each moment in the present,” said Lisbeth Coto 39, principal at Angels Reach Academy in Hialeah Gardens. She first met Ryan Reed, an airline pilot and a member of the U.S. Air Force Reserve who is also...