Shōjō’s Dojo and Thorn Reinvigorate Miami’s Bird Road Arts District

When most tourists picture Miami, the neighborhoods that come to mind are most commonly Miami Beach, Brickell, and, as of late, maybe even Coral Gables, which has recently appeared on many “best neighborhood” lists. One area they most likely don’t think about? West Miami-Dade and the Bird Road Arts District, located just south of West Miami and Westchester and east of Tropical Park. More of a main street than a proper neighborhood, most Miami kids from South Miami, Westchester, and Kendall are likely familiar with the area.

The area has never been much to write home about, especially when it comes to its restaurant and bar scene — that is, until now. All of that has changed, thanks to a pioneering brewer and two unlikely folks — a former engineer and his wife, a medical school graduate.

The renaissance of the area began seven years ago when West Kendall native and brewer by trade John Falco opened Lincoln’s Beard Brewing Co. in 2016. The large, industrial brewery has since hosted community fundraisers, karaoke nights, and a rotation of local food trucks and pop-ups, breathing new life into the area and establishing what would later become Miami’s Bird Road Arts District. “At the time, I felt other areas of Miami were getting saturated, and we wanted to keep our projects out west to honor my roots,” says Falco.

In 2019, Falco went on to open Strange Beast Brewpub & Pizzeria a few miles away, where he would hire an up-and-coming brewer, Haidar Hachem, and the rest is history. “I am an engineer by trade, working on several Miami projects like 1-800-Lucky and La Central,” explains Hachem. “But I fell in love with food and beverage, and in 2019, after receiving the offer, I knew it was time to take the leap. So, I quit engineering to become a full-time brewer and pizzaiolo.”

It wasn’t long before Hachem would go off on his own, as well. In 2020, Hachem and his wife, marketing professional and blogger Marilyn Orozco (@littlemariii) launched their beer brand, Shōjō Beer Co. Years later, in August 2023, after taking over the former Ceiba space, they opened Shōjō’s Dojo, Miami’s first sake and beer bar, also located in the Bird Road Arts District. “Like Haidar, F&B wasn’t my original profession. I actually graduated from medical school, but through blogging, I knew that restaurants were my calling,” says Orozco. “When the opportunity came to open Shōjō’s Dojo, it was a no-brainer.”

Meanwhile, back on Bird Road, Falco was busy working on another huge project, which actually began years ago in 2013.

Back in 2013, two groups of developer-backed volunteers proposed two groundbreaking urban initiatives: The Underline, a ten-mile trail and linear park (phase one has already broken ground in Brickell), and Ludlam Trail, which aims to convert six miles of abandoned railway running parallel to Ludlam Road in West Miami and across Bird Road. For phase one of the latter, which includes half a mile of the trail, a bar, and two apartment buildings called MiLine and Windsor, Falco and his team were hired to create its food and beverage outposts. “I had been in talks with the developers for a while,” explains Falco. “The project originally was going to be a brewery, but being so close to Lincoln’s Beard [Brewing Co.] we didn’t want to cannibalize.”

What was born was Thorn, a cocktail bar that opened in 2023, offering lunch, dinner, brunch, and even Falco’s popular ice cream spot, Cry Baby Creamery, which is housed within it. His ice cream won New Times’ best ice cream of 2023. “This project is really exciting for Bird Road because Thorn is just phase one, with another mixed-use development opening at the end of MiLine’s trail, and a phase three that hasn’t even been announced to the public yet,” says Falco.

Not far behind in the championing of this beloved area are Hachem and Orozco, who are expanding their original concept with a cool addition next door to Shōjō’s Dojo.

On March 8, the couple will open their version of a “yokocho,” a Japanese-style alleyway filled with food, drinks, and activities, in the space adjacent to Shōjō’s Dojo. “The success of Shōjō’s Dojo has been so staggering that in less than a year we outgrew the space. So, when the adjacent vacuum repair shop went up for sale, we knew we had to jump,” adds Hachem. The new speakeasy-feeling space will feature an arcade with foosball and other games, including an alcohol vending machine with sake one-cup drinks. The 2,200 square feet space (in comparison to Shōjō’s Dojo’s 1,100 square foot space) will also sell its own brand of food and drink. “We want our original location to be more boutique, focusing on sake, beer, and wine education while the yokocho will have more of a dive-bar vibe, both with their own rotation of food pop-ups,” says Orozco.

Within a few years, West Miami-Dade’s Bird Road Arts District has gone from a virtually unknown part of the city with its requisite slew of chain restaurants to a bustling area full of homegrown spots. The addition of Thorn, Shōjō’s Dojo, and their subsequent expansion is sure to continue to breathe life into this side of the Magic City.