Palmer Trinity School

to its original status as a must-see destination in Miami. Javier states that "the Coconut Grove Community is a big inspiration to me and a constant in my life. Farinelli and Strada are large parts of the community. This connection is beautiful because it aided the resurgence of the Grove and made it a popular place to be again." Another inspiration to Javier was being exposed to various parts of the industry at a young age. Between working in the restaurant industry during summer vacation and returning from George Washington University, Javier experienced every position in a restaurant. The positions he experienced ranged from busboy to manager to working in the kitchen and behind the bar. He greatly attributes these experiences to his passion for the industry, expertise and eventual ownership of Strada in the Grove and Farinelli 1937. During Javier's time at Palmer Trinity School, he learned the value of diversity. Javier remarks that his "time at Palmer Trinity School was much more than just academics. [He] was immersed into a melting pot of different cultures which influenced how [he] developed and designed restaurants and menus. Also, when owning a restaurant, you must manage people from many different cultures, not only staff but customers. Palmer Trinity's diversity prepared [him] for this without even knowing it at the time." Restaurants Javier is most proud of how his restaurants are "community based." Strada and Farinelli have been actively engaged in the Coconut Grove community and beyond ever since they opened. Javier's restaurants are hubs for school events and community wide gatherings. Javier also partnered with Palmer Trinity to make a garden that is locally grown on campus. Fresh produce is used for ingredients in Farinelli dishes. Advice Javiers advises that it is "crucial to go through the ranks and understand every position in a restaurant and how they work and interconnect." The biggest disadvantage to any restaurateur would be to skip steps and disregard all the other positions in a restaurant beside the owner. Even as an owner, Javier is always ready to "roll up his sleeves and serve tables" and " do any other tasks the restaurant may need at that moment." Another tip Javier shared is to conduct "R&D (research and development) by going out and exploring other restaurants." He is a firm believer in drawing inspiration from the different cultures and communities around you. A lot of the special dishes and decor of Strada and Farinelli are drawn from other places such as New York City, Spain, Italy and of course Miami. R ANDY ALONSO '02 L O S T B OY DRY G OOD S , T ROPE Z ON, F OX ' S L OUNGE , M AY FA IR GR IL L , SIP SIP, A ND JOL IE T Beginning in the Industry Randy's journey into hospitality wasn't traditional. After graduating from Duke University in 2006 Randy came back to Miami to be the third generation to go into the family retail business which was a department store downtown, La Epoca. His family decided to close the store in 2018. But along the way, Randy had designed a denim shop across from the department store and wasn't ready to give up the location. In lieu of this, he transitioned all retail aspects of the store with the intention of creating a long term, neighborhood bar in its place. He and his friend decided to open the bar together. Their opening day was supposed to be small and lowkey but it landed on the day that Argentina played in the last World Cup series. That small opening day turned into 200 people in there watching a World Cup and it was a lot more exciting than expected. This was Randy's entrance into hospitality. He quickly realized that he had a love for it and has more of a 54 PALMERTRINITY.ORG A L U M N I N E W S

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