{"id":103481,"date":"2026-01-02T18:07:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T18:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/103481\/"},"modified":"2026-01-02T18:07:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T18:07:10","slug":"2010s-social-media-posts-show-the-wynwood-we-used-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/103481\/","title":{"rendered":"2010s Social Media Posts Show the Wynwood We Used to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Miami that emerged out of the 2008 financial crisis would be unrecognizable to most of us today. In the aftermath of the crash, the city was left with a partially built skyline and the domino effect of bankrupt condos, nightclubs, retail, and restaurants. The party of unlimited development and growth, it seemed, was over. But by 2012, the city began to rebound, and, if any neighborhood emerged like a phoenix from the ashes, it was Wynwood.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Shiny condo buildings and New York-financed clubstaurants might have defined Miami in the early aughts, but the 2010s gave way to a more homegrown scene. Wynwood, with its local galleries, art walks, and live music, became a grassroots destination driven mostly by word of mouth in those early days. Gramps, its pioneering watering hole, pizza spot<\/a>, and music venue<\/a>, has, for the last 13 years, been at the center of that culture, providing an eclectic meeting spot for locals of every stripe<\/a>. For many, its closure feels like a symbolic end.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As a final farewell, we asked a handful of Miami artists, business owners, and creatives, for whom Gramps was a second home of sorts, to share their social media posts from the early days of the Wynwood boom. They serve as snapshots of a now-legendary moment in Miami history.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gramps Founder Adam Gersten\u00a0<\/p>\n

Adam Gersten was a Key West attorney with a twinkle in his eye for opening a bar when he signed the lease for Gramps in 2011. His Goldilocks requirements were location (he wanted to be between the two causeways, and therefore accessible to most locals), size (neither as big as a club nor as small as a tavern), and vibe (neither too fancy nor too divey).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gersten envisioned a neighborhood hangout with a little bit of everything: live music, great cocktails, comedy shows, political fundraisers, drag shows, cool art, weirdos, normies, nerds, punks, and hipsters.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMiami, make your New Year\u2019s Resolution Count!\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWe\u2019re $14,000 away from reaching our $30,000 year-end fundraising goal. Your support could be what pushes us over the top. If our work has kept you informed, helped you understand a complex issue, or better connected you to your community, please consider making a contribution today.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\"screenshotGersten announced the opening of the bar that would become Gramps in February 2012.<\/p>\n

Facebook screenshot via Adam Gersten<\/p>\n

\u201cWynwood had this special area where it was easier to put caf\u00e9s, restaurants, and bars next to each other with a little bit less red tape at the time,\u201d Gersten remembers.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy friend was visiting, and I was taking pictures of my grandfather\u2019s office, because it was design inspo as I was working on the decor for the bar. She was staying at The Standard, and I was like, \u2018Oh, I\u2019ll be right over. I\u2019m just taking pictures at Gramps\u2019, meaning his office. She asked, \u2018Is that the name of the bar?\u2019 And I was like, \u2018Yes. In fact, now it is.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"screenshotAsking for a friend.<\/p>\n

Facebook screenshot via Adam Gersten<\/p>\n

\u201cThe friend was me.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"screenshotGersten documented the initial stages of the bar\u2019s construction.<\/p>\n

Facebook screenshot via Adam Gersten<\/p>\n

\u201cEdgewater was going from two- and three-story buildings to its first condos during the boom of the early 2000s\u2026There were a lot of people who were artists moving to Edgewater, and then the galleries came into Wynwood, and it was this great sort of natural, not forced, zone of things happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"screenshotA broken pipe during construction.<\/p>\n

Facebook screenshot via Adam Gersten<\/p>\n

\u201cI was like, \u2018Oh, we\u2019re building a pool. And everyone was like, \u2018Wait, are you putting in a pool bar? Is this gonna be like the Clevelander in Wynwood?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"screenshotA man on a mission.<\/p>\n

Facebook screenshot via Adam Gersten<\/p>\n

\u201cI went on an excursion with Lazaro to buy video games for the bar.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"screenshotThe first of many to come.<\/p>\n

Facebook screenshot via Adam Gersten<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess that\u2019s pretty self-explanatory.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brian Butler of Upper Hand Art<\/p>\n

Brian Butler is a prolific Miami artist. After moving from Boston in 2010, he dipped his toe in the local scene by creating flyers for Sweat Records. Over the past decade and a half, he\u2019s left an indelible mark on the city with his concert illustrations and public art projects.<\/p>\n

Butler contributed to the visual direction of Gramps alongside Sun and Sons, the Miami creative firm that spearheads Gersten\u2019s projects. (Burnie from Sun and Sons has his likeness painted in the yard.)<\/p>\n

Opening night.<\/p>\n

Butler created these Jacuzzi Boys illustrations on Gramps\u2019 stationery.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ale Campos of Las Nubes\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ale Campos has played the patio and Shirley\u2019s at Gramps countless times, with several bands. Today, she is the frontwoman for Las Nubes, one of Miami\u2019s most lauded local bands, and the touring guitarist for Iggy Pop. When Gramps opened, she was playing drums for Test\u00f6kra.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo me, it felt like freedom because I had just moved out of my parents\u2019 house for the first time,\u201d she remembers. \u201cI was on my own. I was playing in all these bands, and I just felt like this sense of independence when I was there. It was like a playground for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lolo Reskin of Sweat Records<\/p>\n

Lolo Reskin is the owner of Sweat Records, the beloved indie record shop that recently celebrated its 20th anniversary<\/a>. She has hosted several Sweat Records event series at Gramps over the years, including \u201980s Prom and Take Me Out. Her highlight from the year Gramps opened involves Campos\u2019 frontman.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 2012, our highlight was hosting Iggy Pop at Sweat, when he was the Official Record Store Day Ambassador,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Aramis Lori\u00e9 of Poplife<\/p>\n

Aramis Lori\u00e9 is the founder of Poplife, which began 25 years ago as a local indie-dance party catering to hipster Gen Xers and millennials, and evolved into a marketing agency that works with big-name brands nationwide.\u00a0His standout memory from the year Gramps opened involves another high-profile Miami local.<\/p>\n

\"FacebookGramps will soon join the list of beloved cultural venues of yesteryear, a list that includes Grand Central.<\/p>\n

Facebook screenshot via Aramis Lori\u00e9<\/p>\n

\u201cThis night, Pharrell Williams came to Grand Central because he wanted to check out Cannibal Corpse live,\u201d he says. \u201cHe bought a ton of their merch.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joel and Leticia Pollock of Panther Coffee<\/p>\n

Joel and Leticia Pollack moved from Portland to Miami in the early aughts and saw a need for a local coffee shop like the ones they were used to back home. They opened the original Panther Coffee in Wynwood in 2010, right at the start of a consequential decade for the neighborhood.<\/p>\n

David Sinopoli of III Points<\/p>\n

David Sinopoli is the cofounder of III Points, a two-day music festival that debuted in Wynwood in 2013 and has grown into a globally recognized hub for music lovers. He is also the co-owner of Club Space, Floyd, The Ground, and Jolene Soundroom.<\/p>\n

\"screenshotIII Points has gone on to host sets by Rosal\u00eda, LCD Soundsystem, The Strokes, and many others. <\/p>\n

Facebook screenshot via David Sinopoli<\/p>\n

\u201cErica and I just got done with like our tenth day at Mana Wynwood setting up [the first] III Points, and we were exhausted,\u201d Sinopoli remembers. \u201cI was smoking a joint, and we were just catching up about the day and how crazy this whole process had been, and laughing. We laughed a lot that year, like, \u2018What the fuck are we doing?\u2019 Mad cackles.\u201d<\/p>\n

Billy Corben of Rakontur<\/p>\n

Billy Corben, a childhood friend of Adam Gersten, is the Miami-based documentary filmmaker behind Cocaine Cowboys, The U, and God Forbid: The Sex Scandal That Brought Down A Dynasty.\u00a0His 2018 Instagram post shows Gramps just shy of six years in, already an established hub for Miami\u2019s creatives, and a place where anything could happen.<\/p>\n

\"ScreenshotComedians and drag performers were always welcome at Gramps.<\/p>\n

Instagram screenshot via Billy Corben<\/p>\n

\u201cGramps was Adam\u2019s dream,\u201d he says. \u201c[Alfred] Spellman tried to convince him not to do it. He was both absolutely right and absolutely wrong. God, I loved that place.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Miami that emerged out of the 2008 financial crisis would be unrecognizable to most of us today.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":103482,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[225,227,226,17878,2279,309],"class_list":{"0":"post-103481","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-hialeah","8":"tag-hialeah","9":"tag-hialeah-headlines","10":"tag-hialeah-news","11":"tag-history-nostalgia","12":"tag-venues","13":"tag-wynwood"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103481"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103481\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103482"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}