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Is This Miami’s Best Soul Food Restaurant?

In an nondescript strip mall off of busy NW 27th in Miami Gardens is a project worthy of widespread attention.

Inside is a small restaurant with big dreams to save a culture before it dies out forever.

This is the story of the place that wants to save soul food in Miami.

At Miami Soul Cafe, soul food is serious business.

“I was raised up on soul food,” Carrollo Phillips said.

“Soul food kind of deals with the person who’s making it,” Willis Howard said. “Putting you heart into it. We were given a lot of scraps a long time ago and we had to make the best with those scraps.”

Well known Miami political operative Willis Howard has wanted to open a place like this for many years.

Why?

“it is the largest African-American city in the state. Almost 115,000 African-American residents. And there wasn’t really a black staple. We had a lot of other restaurants from Caribbean, Haitian, Bahamian, Jamaican. But not anything dealing with just African-American food.”

But Howard’s dream of a proudly black restaurant in a proudly black city wouldn’t be possible without this man.

Chef Carrollo Phillips.

“And when you taste that, you gonna taste that love. I don’t care what it is. You’re going to taste it.”

Phillips grew up in Miami and was a big time athlete at Miami Northwestern high school.

He was drafted into Vietnam where he got to hone his cooking skills while running mess halls near the front lines.

But he also saw action and was injured.

“It wasn’t no vacation over there brother. No sir. Still had to go out and survive. That’s what I called it. Survive.”

He came home from the war a damaged young man.

But Phillips took some of the love for soul food he had learned cooking with his mom and grandma and the organization skills developed by the army to start a long career as a successful caterer.

That’s how Howard and him would eventually meet.

Miami Soul Cafe has a large menu of southern soul food favorites.

Howard hopes that his place can help remind his community why soul food is so important.

He wants to save it from disappearing forever.

“Chef is amazing,” Howard said. “Just to have him and his presence. It’s his recipes. And I hope that we can foster something that these recipes don’t die out with us. That other folks come in here and see it. He has no problem showing you everything he does. ‘Let me shows you how to make a biscuit. Let me show how to make grits. Let me show you how to do the fish. Because hopefully, you’ll be able to go out and spinoff and make some more of these things. Because if not, our food will be gone. It will be gone.”

EXCLUSIVE: Video Shows Cat Being Slammed Against Wall At Miami-Area PetSmart

A Broward animal welfare organization is under fire after shocking video of one of its volunteers being rough with a cat emerged.

In the video, a unidentified volunteer for Cat Crusade is seen using a broom to forcefully push “Mocha”, a cat, against a wall divider.

The volunteer uses profanity and becomes visibly angry while shoving the broom at the cat.

“Get the fuck out!,” the woman says on video. “Go! Go! Come on! Move! Out! Out! Out Mocha!”

The video was taken by Nadia Sazonova yesterday at a Hollywood PetSmart.

She then sent it to RISE NEWS.

In a phone interview, Sazonova said that the incident occurred at the cat adoption section of the PetSmart.

She said that there were a number of cats in that area at the time of the incident.

She was at the store to pick up a leash for her dog when her attention was drawn to the cat adoption section.

“When I was passing by she was cursing,” Sazonova said. “When I came closer, I saw she had a broom and was hitting the cat, so I started to record.”

“Nothing is more important than the safety and well-being of pets in our care,” PetSmart said in a statement to RISE NEWS. “As soon as we were alerted to to the incident with Mocha, we took immediate action to ensure that Mocha was unharmed. Additionally, the volunteer of our partner organization, Cat Crusaders, that committed the act was immediately removed from the store and will not be allowed to return.”

A PetSmart spokesperson told RISE NEWS that the pet chain works with over 4,000 different animal welfare organizations across the country, and even supplies space for their operations in its stores.

However, the spokesperson said that it is up to the individual partner animal welfare organizations to vet the volunteers who work out of space at PetSmart.

“It’s a unfornature incident that occurred with a volunteer,” the spokesperson said.

But for Sazonova, that response isn’t enough.

“I would like this woman not to work with pets anymore or for her to be charged with animal cruelty,” Sazonova said.

According to its website, Cat Crusade provides care for 50-80 stray cays per month in Broward County.

PetSmart said that they brought Mocha the cat to a veterinarian immediately after learning of the incident and that the cat is doing fine.

Cat Crusaders did not immediately  respond to requests for comment. We will update this story if they do.

See something interesting happen in South Florida? 

Know of an important story that needs to be told? 

Send us a tip to [email protected].

IMF Official: Miami Is The True “Hub” Of Latin America

What’s News In This Story?

This interview is part of the “Tomorrow Lives Here” Conversation Series presented by Miami Business School


WATCH:

Alejandro Werner, the Director of the Western Hemisphere Department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) called Miami the “hub” of Latin America during a recent interview in Coral Gables.

–”Miami is a bit of a hub for Latin America and for us that’s very important because it is a place where you come and you really address the broad regional interests,” Werner said in the interview. “In contrast to what you find when you go to twenty big capitals in Latin America- after two minutes of talking about the region, you fall back into the country.”

–Werner spoke to Miami Business School Dean John Quelch about the current state of the various economies in the Western Hemisphere and how Miami is positioned in the global market. 

RISE NEWS is South Florida’s digital TV news network. Sign up for our awesome email newsletter to make sure you never miss a story!

Have a news tip about this topic or something completely different? Send it to [email protected].

How To Pull Off A Successful Corporate Merger With RBI’s Heitor Gonçalves

What’s News In This Story?

This interview is part of the “Tomorrow Lives Here” Conversation Series presented by Miami Business School


WATCH:

–A veteran of venture capital, Heitor Gonçalves has been at the center of multiple corporate mergers and turnarounds. 

Gonçalves also worked multiple strategic roles for Anheuser-Busch InBev

He is now at Restaurant Brands International (the multinational who runs Burger King and Popeyes).

–Based in Miami, Gonçalves spoke to Miami Business School Dean John Quelch about the biggest challenges to a successful corporate merger and the biggest differences between the beer and restaurant industries. 

 

RISE NEWS is South Florida’s digital TV news network. Sign up for our awesome email newsletter to make sure you never miss a story!

Have a news tip about this topic or something completely different? Send it to [email protected].

Top Cyber Expert: Every Company Is Now At Risk Of Serious Hacking

What’s News In This Story?

This interview is part of the “Tomorrow Lives Here” Conversation Series presented by Miami Business School


WATCH:

–Sandy Goldstein started leading cyber consulting firm Capsicum Group in 2000.

A University of Miami graduate, Goldstein spoke to Miami Business School Dean John Quelch about the threats that businesses face on a daily basis when it comes to hacking and how the Magic City is well positioned to lead in the sector. 

 

RISE NEWS is South Florida’s digital TV news network. Sign up for our awesome email newsletter to make sure you never miss a story!

Have a news tip about this topic or something completely different? Send it to [email protected].

At Miami Business School, BIS Head Defends Globalism And Bashes Bitcoin

What’s News In This Story?

This interview is part of the “Tomorrow Lives Here” Conversation Series presented by Miami Business School


WATCH:

–The head of the Bank for International Settlements, Agustín Carstens defended globalism and bashed bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in an exclusive interview with RISE NEWS

–Carstens is the general manager for BIS, a massive institution that is often called the “bank for the central banks”. 

–Carstens was interviewed by Miami Business School Vice Dean Henrik Cronqvist.

–The former governor of Mexico’s Central Bank, Carstens has earned a reputation as being a strong skeptic of cryptocurrencies.

Don’t Miss:

Lennar’s Stuart Miller Thinks That Miami’s Homebuilding Market Is A “Tale Of Two Cities”

 

RISE NEWS is South Florida’s digital TV news network. Sign up for our awesome email newsletter to make sure you never miss a story!

Have a news tip about this topic or something completely different? Send it to [email protected].

Xavier Cortada On How Art Made Miami Global And How It May Save It In The Future

What’s News In This Story?

This interview is part of the “Tomorrow Lives Here” Conversation Series presented by Miami Business School

 


WATCH:

Artist Xavier Cortada is known in Miami for helping introduce the public to complex issues and ideas through beautiful pieces of art.

–A graduate of Miami Business School, Cortada has done some wild things in his life including planting a green flag at the North Pole in order to “reclaim it for nature and launch an eco-art reforestation effort”.

–He is also trying to get more public awareness around the issue of climate change in South Florida, among other issues. 

Cortada recently donated four pieces of public art to Miami Business School and spoke to Dean John Quelch about the significance of that work, his view of how art has made Miami an international city and how it may save the city in the future.

 

And Watch This Too:

DraftKings CEO Jason Robins On How Growing Up In Miami Prepared Him For Success

RISE NEWS is South Florida’s digital TV news network. Sign up for our awesome email newsletter to make sure you never miss a story!

Have a news tip about this topic or something completely different? Send it to [email protected].

DraftKings CEO Jason Robins On How Growing Up In Miami Prepared Him For Success

What’s News In This Story?

This interview is part of the “Tomorrow Lives Here” Conversation Series presented by Miami Business School

 


WATCH:

DraftKings CEO and co-founder Jason Robins grew up in Miami. 

–And it was that upbringing that turned Robins into a sports fanatic from an early age. 

-He took that passion into the business world with the launch of DraftKings in 2012. 

-The company is in the daily fantasy sports industry and allows its customers- people who manage fantasy sports teams, to compete for cash prizes.  

-In a wide-ranging conversation with Miami Business School Dean John Quelch, Robins talked about how he and his two co-founders got the company off the ground despite fierce competition, what he learned from his UM economics professor father and about the power of differentiation in startups.

Don’t Miss:

Lennar’s Stuart Miller Thinks That Miami’s Homebuilding Market Is A “Tale Of Two Cities”

RISE NEWS is South Florida’s digital TV news network. Sign up for our awesome email newsletter to make sure you never miss a story!

Have a news tip about this topic or something completely different? Send it to [email protected].

A “Cat Cafe” Just Opened In Miami Beach. Seriously

What’s News In This Story?


 

WATCH:

 

–After two years of waiting, Miami Beach finally has its very own “cat cafe”.

-The simply named Cat Cafe South Beach opened to the public on November 16. 

-Featuring nearly 40 adoptable cats of all ages, the shop also serves hot drinks like coffee and tea and offers some light fare. 

-Anyone can come to pet or play with the cats, but you are asked to give a minimum donation of $15 for adults and $12 for children 11 and under. 

Here’s another cool story: 

Before National Fame, Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho Started As An Undocumented Immigrant

RISE NEWS is South Florida’s digital TV news network. Sign up for our awesome email newsletter to make sure you never miss a story!

Have a news tip about this topic or something completely different? Send it to [email protected].

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