{"id":8644,"date":"2015-07-17T09:02:05","date_gmt":"2015-07-17T16:02:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/somimag.com\/?p=8644"},"modified":"2015-08-03T12:31:51","modified_gmt":"2015-08-03T19:31:51","slug":"foxs-closes-its-doors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/somimag.com\/foxs-closes-its-doors\/","title":{"rendered":"LAST CALL AT FOX’S"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/a>

Last call for alcohol. Last call for a generously poured, properly chilled martini. Last call for late night thumb bits and divinely fried chicken. Last call for the darkest bar ever. Fox\u2019s, South Miami\u2019s iconic watering hole is no more. The Fox has drawn his last breath.<\/b><\/p>\n

The neon sign proclaiming FOX\u2019S Sherron Inn on US I in South Miami has gone out once and for all. After seven decades of good food and great memories the popular spot has a date with the wrecking ball.<\/p>\n

It all started with Hank and Betty Fox\u2019s concept for an establishment that included a bar, a family-friendly dining room, and a liquor store all under one roof. The year was 1946 when the City of South Miami had about 2,761 residents.<\/p>\n

The wordplay on the Fox name was a good choice and never changed despite the two subsequent owners through the years.\u00a0 \u201cSherron\u201d according to popular lore, was some sign-maker\u2019s mistaken version of the name Sherrie, Mr. and\u00a0Mrs. Fox\u2019s granddaughter.<\/p>\n

George Andrews purchased the place in 1967 and Ren\u00e9 Dahdah purchased it in 2009. Mr. Dahdah owns the land on which Fox\u2019s sits; he has plans to build something new on the site to be explored in the next issue of SOMI Magazine.<\/p>\nUS1 circa 1955\n

The building, a basic \u201cArt Moderne\u201d boxlike, two-story affair has changed little over the years. Tales abound about the second floor, but the truth is that it provided living quarters for Mrs. Fox and recently, for Ricardo Guti\u00e9rrez, the location\u2019s general manager. It was a good place for storage, too. We\u2019ll leave it to others to speculate about assignations and ladies of dubious character.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s the thing about FOX\u2019S. Sure, it has a history, but it was the kind of place that invited myth-making.<\/p>\n

In those early years just after the war, Fox\u2019s was one of the few places to get a cocktail. Tobacco Road in Miami, also recently defunct, was the oldest.<\/p>\n

Drinking and dining at the ever-popular FOX\u2019S was something of a rite-of-passage for students, entertainers, professional sports stars, airline pilots, fishermen returning from the Keys, and just about anybody within walking and driving distance. Bebe Rebozo, Rep. Dante Fascell, Rep. Claude Pepper, Ray Liotta, Sylvester Stallone, Bill Murray, Matt Dillon, Dave Barry, Bob Griese, and Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. are among those who sampled some thumb bits at a table or tossed back the last of a Manhattan at the bar.<\/p>\n

Jimmy Johnson, former UM football coach and later head coach for the Dallas Cowboys, confessed to George Andrews, \u201cEvery time I\u2019m\u00a0 looking for my football players, I go to FOX\u2019S to\u00a0find them!\u201d<\/p>\n

Arguably the world\u2019s darkest bar, loyal patrons used to yell out at those holding the side door open: \u201cHey, close the door, you\u2019re letting the dark out!\u201d Some said it was best to enter with sunglasses on and then the transition to near total darkness would be a little easier.<\/p>\n

The jukebox was a draw and remained the source of house music. A stash of old 45s ranging from the Platters to Johnny Mathis, with plenty of ballads by Old Blue Eyes made up a lot of the playlist. Like the jukebox, much of what patrons grew attached to over the years were still there: the red, black and white color scheme, oak bar stools, overstuffed red vinyl booths in the bar, and the artwork. Mrs. Fox\u2019s iconic red fox with one eye winking graced the front door and the bar. The large fox painting on board was always hanging behind the bar until recently. And the much-debated airplane painting (is it arriving or departing?) was on the wall, as was the fantasy painting of Fox\u2019s on a street in Paris as imagined by a loyal customer.<\/p>\n

The memories and the myths brought in the diehards and the newly-arrived with equal power: \u201cMy first job as a bartender was at FOX\u2019S\u201d \u201cIt was the only place to get a bottle of booze late at night.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cHey, can you take me to that old bar that everybody says I gotta see?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ricardo Guti\u00e9rrez recently expressed his opinion about the closing to Laine Doss from the Miami New Times, \u201c That\u2019s the thing with Miami \u2013 the property value is going up, and people want to get the most out of it. It\u2019s sad, but it\u2019s a reality.\u201d<\/p>\n

Artist and author Jonathan Brooks wrote, \u201cWhether it be FOX\u2019S, Tobacco Road, Scotty\u2019s Landing or any other of the numerous establishments succumbing to the trend, I really wish we could preserve more of Miami\u2019s history instead of it always being about the money\u00a0and bigger business.\u201d<\/p>\n

One look at that photo of FOX\u2019S from 1955 and you\u2019ll know how long this sly fox managed to evade the trap of change. Seventy years. The little guy has had a better run than most.<\/p>\n\n\t\t