Street renamed after Black business owner remembered for generosity

MIAMI – The woman who opened Miami’s first Bahamian restaurant in 1929 was recognized with a special street designation, and the sign will do more than help people find their way, it’ll help some reconnect with the past.

“I see it, the sign is down there,” Andrea Pratt said.

Pratt is Margaret Jane Thompson Mackey’s granddaughter, CBS4 walked with her as she saw the street sign for the first time.  It’s near where the Seafood Cafe once stood.

“I feel so blessed,” she said.

She has spent two years campaigning for the City of Miami make this happen, and Wednesday it became a reality.  

“The restaurant was right here, because Mr. Louie’s store was there,” Antoinette Miller, Pratt’s sister said as she walked.

The delicious Bahamian food, from fried fish to stewed conch packed the family-run business which opened in 1929. It even drew famous people like Muhammad Ali, but Mackey would ultimately be remembered for her generosity.

“When people came from out of town and didn’t have anywhere to go no place to give, she would give them a job in her restaurant and then she would get them a place to sleep until they go on their feet,” Miller recalled.

The restaurant had to close down in 1969 along with a number of Black businesses in Overtown, as part of the Urban Renewal Program, and I-95 extension.

“Look how this place has changed,” Pratt remarked.

Mackey passed away in 1968 but by then she had touched the lives of so many including those like Enid Pinkney who’s worked to preserve Black History in Miami.  She told CBS4, she looked up to her friend growing up.

“What I saw her do could be passed on to anybody,” Pinkney said.

It led her to stand up for what’s right, and fight for causes like preserving the historic Hampton House, a Greenbook hotel during segregation.

“What she did was put a greatness in the lives of many,” Pratt added.

It’s hoped that when drivers or pedestrians pass by, they’ll look up and discover the woman who’s left a lasting mark in the Overtown community.

“Our youth, they need to hear these stories, if she could do it during a time where the world is going through a downfall the Great Depression if she was able to open up a thriving restaurant that can give us hope,” Gail Seay, City of Miami Constituent Affairs said.

And one footnote on this story, the sign currently does have a typo where it’s displayed near 17th Street and 5th Avenue; Miller said the City of Miami told her they are working to get it fixed.