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As a non-Texan who’s smoked brisket in Dubai, beef sausage in Vegas and pork ribs in London, pitmaster Orelle Young thinks Texas barbecue’s center of gravity is everywhere — especially Fort Lauderdale’s Sistrunk Boulevard. He’s here at B&D Trap early Thursday, sweating despite the shade of a screened-in patio, flipping and pulling glazed ribs from a Primitive Pits offset smoker and 14-hour brisket from an Ole Hickory commercial gas smoker. At his new roadside stop, four blocks west of the L.A. Lee YMCA, Young aims to challenge long-held beliefs about the cult of Texas ‘cue: What it is, where it’s made, who’s allowed to make it. An order of pulled pork is ready to be wrapped up at B&D Trap barbeque in the Sistrunk neighborhood of Fort Lauderdale.  “We get it out of the smoker just before opening, which is 11 a.m.,” he says. “Let’s...

You’d never know that Ronnie Hall would become The Salad Boss. Nothing in the founder’s resume would have given you a clue — as recently as a year ago — that he was going to start working on a health-conscious eatery inside the YMCA in Fort Lauderdale, in the middle of the Sistrunk Boulevard neighborhood. “I was in corporate America for 17 years,” says Hall, who is also a Navy veteran. “I just kind of got burned out with what I was doing. I just wanted to be a boss myself. I never thought I would be here.” “Here” is a brightly hued, fast-casual restaurant that opened in December with a tightly focused menu of salads, wraps, sandwiches and smoothies. There are also breakfast and kids’ menus. Next door is the BSTYLE lounge, a bonus space for patrons with what Hall describes as something more akin to a speakeasy...

On November 7, 2023, the Fort Lauderdale City Commission, acting as the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Board of Commissioners approved an increase in funding in the amount of $400,000 to V&R Family Enterprises, Corp. for the renovation of a longtime vacant property located at 1227 Sistrunk Boulevard. The total amount of CRA incentives awarded towards this project is $750,000. The proposed renovations will include the modernization and build-out of the  property into a mixed-use development. Once renovations are completed, the two-story building will include five modern one-bedroom/ one bath  apartments with impact windows and doors, central air conditioning, tiled floors and an outdoor patio area.  In addition, the ground floor will consist of  a 1,449 square foot event space with new handicap-accessible restrooms, a warming kitchen and storage. The developer and owner of the property is V&R Family Enterprises (Developer). V&R Family...

On November 7, 2023, the Fort Lauderdale City Commission, acting as the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Board of Commissioners approved a $10 million incentive to Sunshine Shipyard, LLC for the Arcadian Project, located at 640 NW 7th Avenue. The Arcadian is a new mixed-use development currently  under construction  at the northeast corner of  Sistrunk Blvd and  Avenue of the Arts (NW 7th Avenue).  The project will consist of  two eight -story buildings with 480 residential units, 5,235 square feet of ground floor commercial space and  a parking garage with 606 spaces.  Of the 480 units, 48  will be set aside for affordable housing for residents with incomes less or equal to 100% of the Broward County median family income . The residential units set aside as affordable will include 10 studio units renting for approximately $1,680/month, 28 one bedroom-one bath units...

On June 6, 2023, the Fort Lauderdale City Commission, acting as the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Board of Commissioners approved   $402,696 in CRA incentives  to 825 Progresso Drive, LLC for the development of the Progresso Park project located at 825-833 Progresso Drive. The proposed project consist of the redevelopment of a former dilapidated used car lot into an indoor/outdoor venue offering yoga, fitness, art, food, market, music, and family-oriented recreation during the day  and young professional recreation during the evening hours. Plans for the Progresso Park  entail refurbishing  the  existing  site with  shipping containers or similar preconstructed structures, along with renovating  a building  for restaurant use. The containers  will be available for lease to small business/retail establishments and will also be utilized for restrooms and storage space. The total leasable area will be approximately 2,500 square feet. The site will also...