Giorgio Rapicavoli estimates he has spent roughly 15 years—about half of his life—inside loud and busy kitchens. At age 14, he started as a busboy. It wasn’t long before he talked himself into a job in the kitchen instead. After high school, he enrolled at Johnson & Wales’ culinary school. Despite maintaining a nearly perfect
Though David Hochfeld worked a variety of jobs over the years, including 10 years in the restaurant industry, a part of him was always stifled. “I was always an actor at heart,” Hochfeld says. “I was in every play in school.” Hochfeld didn’t find an outlet for his talent until he attended the Renaissance Festival
Build it once, build it right. That’s the mindset Chris Joerger, founder of Big Shot Rides, brings to his business. The Coconut Creek resident has developed a reputation as the go-to man for building and customizing anything with a motor. Joerger discovered his love for cars at an early age, growing up near the raceways
At Coconut Creek Elementary School, Christine Bazos doesn’t just teach first-graders about math, reading and social studies. She’s also a caretaker for the children growing up to become leaders. “We try to teach them, even at a very young age, to be the best person they can be—to help others, to not think of themselves
When Leo Moleiro became Coconut Creek’s special events planner in June 2016, he was confident about what his job would entail. But something kept coming up. “When I first started working here, [everyone said], ‘Hey, you’d better get ready for the Butterfly Festival,’ ” Moleiro says. “I was like, ‘Well, it’s June. I’ve got eight
More than 20 years ago, Joan and Bob Nast often would visit local hospitals and pray for sick children. Though they saw many children recover and go on to lead happy lives, they also saw a lot of pain—pain they felt they could help alleviate in some way. “Bobby and I said to each other
First on the Scene: Gianpiero and Karen Cangelosi opened Tarantella in 1992, inside a little barn on Saddle Club Road. They closed it in 2000 to become one of the first restaurants to open in the newly developed Weston Town Center, in November 2001. They’ve been serving the community there since. Artistic Decor: The artwork
According to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, more than 30,000 U.S. residents are living with the progressive, genetic disease that limits the ability to breathe due to a consistent buildup of mucus in the lungs. A half-century ago, the condition was an early death sentence for children, many of whom didn’t make it past elementary school.
In Brickell, nightlife impresario David Grutman is the brains behind Komodo, a three-story Pan-Asian restaurant and lounge. On the menu, patrons find rolls of truffle honey salmon, tuna tataki and tempura shrimp, paired with Peking duck, crab lo mein and miso lobster. But beyond the food, the restaurant is best known for its robust bar
The Hideaway stands out amid the changing winds of downtown Fort Lauderdale. The speakeasy-style bar, juxtaposed with the construction of modern high-rise apartment complexes nearby, makes its home in the Bryan Building, a sturdy brick structure named for Thomas Bryan, one of Fort Lauderdale’s pioneers. The building, protected by its inclusion in the National Register
