Good Morning, Sunland
It's Tuesday! And if your goal was to read a little history and learn about some food for the next 5 minutes, you are in the right place! Let’s jump right in!
📰 Fort Pierce Chronicle from 1970 – Take a look back 55 years to "City Fathers To Act On Area Improvement No.2" and election day coverage from September 1970. View archive
💜 People Pass Shoutout: Thank you to everyone supporting the newsletter! If you want to help keep this going, support here.
Ja’Min Devon
Sponsored: 🍗 Stoney’s Specials
Stoney is not your typical lunch! That $5 Tuesday Snack Pack? Now it runs Tuesday and Wednesday. That means three days of full meals for under $10… in 2025. I know. Unheard of.That’s why I’m so happy to share this, and even happier that Stoney’s is sponsoring the newsletter!
📍 912 N 25th St, Fort Pierce
📞 772-595-2406
🍴 Check the menu here
🍋 The Main Squeeze: 5 of the oldest restaurants in
Saint Lucie County
Photo by J’Qwan
The spark: Me and my friend J'Qwan, who's also the head of Sunland Image, were out filming our new Sunland series home (watch it here) when we walked by Dixie Cream Donuts and saw a sign claiming it's been around since 1929.
My reaction: I looked at J'Qwan and was like, "Man, 1929. That's almost 100 years old. That's about to BE 100 years old."
Why it hit me: When I started Sunland News, part of what I wanted was to create something that could last for 50 years, 100 years. That doesn't even seem real, but it's not impossible.
The rabbit hole begins
What happened next: That got me inspired and I went down an internet rabbit hole, asked a few people around, and this is what I found out.
The reality check: Port St. Lucie unfortunately didn't make the cut just yet (though I will do a piece on the oldest places there as well). It's a young city, to say the least, it's only been around since 1961 so it’s got some aging to do!
The survivors: Fort Pierce's oldest restaurants
Important note: These are some of the five oldest, not THE oldest. I don't have a definitive list on the oldest. Maybe you all can help me out with that.
Here's what I discovered:
Dixie Cream Donuts (1920s) The one that started it all. Nearly 100 years of donuts and coffee, still going strong on Orange Avenue.
Little Jim Bait & Tackle (1944) The beloved Little Jim's. Started as an abandoned WWII Navy guard shack. Now it's waterfront dining with plenty of history. The community is so passionate about this place, which over the last year or two has forced me to dig into the history of this place and people really love it.
Archie's Seabreeze (1947) Another WWII building turned restaurant. It’s been an “Old Florida” beach bar for 70+ years.
Chuck's Seafood Restaurant (1961) Family-run since day one, still going strong on the Indian River Lagoon.
Dale's BBQ (on U.S. 1) (1962) Over 60 years of barbecue in Fort Pierce. As established as anything else in my life like the sky is blue and there's a BBQ spot called Dale's in Fort Pierce.
What struck me most: How many of these places have military connections. WWII guard shacks turned into restaurants that outlasted the war by decades.
Know of any other near 100-year-old places in Fort Pierce? Reply to this email.
People Pass!
From school coverage to better tools like play.sunlandnews.com, every upgrade you see is made possible by readers who pitch in.
🥳 What’s Happening: Oktoberfest Events
Wednesday, Sep 24
🎵 The Groove Experience – Derek Mack brings soulful sounds to Sweet Desires Dessert Lounge in Vero Beach. | 7–10 PM | Varies | Details
Thursday, Sep 25
🍷 Mom's Night Out Sip & Shop – VIP shopping event at Kid to Kid Palm Beach Gardens. | 7–8:30 PM | Free | Details
🎭 Black Brilliance on the Rooftop – Immersive rooftop experience celebrating creativity and culture at The Landing in Melbourne. | 5–10 PM | Ticketed | Details
👨👩👧👦 Fall Family Festival – Community connections and fall activities at Bright Horizons in Jupiter. | 4–6 PM | Free | Details
Friday, Sep 26
🎷 Velvet Vibes Jazz After Dark – Weekly live saxophone jazz at Sweet Desires Dessert Lounge in Vero Beach. | 7–10 PM | Varies | Details
Saturday, Sep 27
🍺 Oktoberfest & Puptoberfest – Beer, bratwurst, and pup-friendly vendor market at Intracoastal Brewing in Melbourne. | 11 AM–10 PM | Free | Details
🍻 DAStoberfest 2025 – 8th annual Oktoberfest with live German music and beer garden at DAS Beer Garden in Jupiter. | 3–10 PM | Free | Details
🥨 Oktoberfest 2025 – German cuisine, live music, and $7 stein fills at Walking Tree Brewery in Vero Beach. | 12 PM | Varies | Details
If you have an event, send it to me here
🍋 OPINION: The Best Jamaican food in St. Lucie County
The backstory: Being that I'm from here and I've tried endless amounts of Jamaican food, being that my family and myself are Jamaican, I feel like I can say this: Jerk City is the best Jamaican food in the county. It's on US 1 in Port St. Lucie and has been my family's go to spot for a long time. Growing up, this was it. I'm surprised I haven't talked about it in the newsletter until now.
What I ordered: Small brown stew chicken with double cabbage. If you're not like me (I don't eat rice and whatnot), it usually comes with rice and two pieces of plantain.
The portion: Small is underselling this. It was a lot of food for a "small."
The taste: It was seasoned. It was flavorful. It was piping hot. Incredible. You could tell the chicken had been marinating for quite a while, all that good stuff. Just like I remember it from last time I had it.
The damage: $12... Yes.
I don't mind spending money on good food, but some of my favorite food is the food that tastes like a million bucks but only costs a couple!?
The location: Mangrove Square on US 1 (7991-8031 S U.S. Hwy 1, Port St. Lucie, FL 34952). Find them here.
Fair warning: You got to go find it. The website doesn't work (maybe in the future I can help out with that). But it’s worth going there and trying it out!
The verdict: Jerk City is so, so good. Please, please, please check it out.
🧾 Last Drop: Unemployment High!
🌪️ Hurricane season stays quiet despite predictions – Only 7 named storms so far versus forecasted 13-19. Wind shear keeping activity down, but October expected to ramp up significantly. Weather update
📈 South Florida unemployment hits four-year high – Regional jobless rate climbs to 3.7%, up 0.3% from July. Wholesale trade shed 2,500 jobs while construction added 1,000 positions. Job data
🏛️ Citizens Insurance wins 90% of arbitration cases – State insurer routes disputes to special forum where it funds judges' salaries. Homeowners say process violates their rights. Investigation
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