Stand on South Dixie Highway behind South Olive Elementary and you can see most of what the Southend has going on this fall. Don Ramon is at 7101 S. Dixie. Aioli is a few hundred numbers south at 7434. Between them, at 7170, Parma Palm Beach has a sign out that reads "Opening Fall 2026." The school cafeteria across the way is where the neighborhood association holds its biggest meeting of the year on October 20. And Trader Joe's is a few blocks south, open since June.
For a long time, people described the Southend's main corridor as Antique Row, the design and antiques strip that starts just south of Southern Boulevard. That stretch still matters, and its biggest night of the year, Evening on Antique Row, closed South Dixie between Monroe Drive and Southern Boulevard on April 11. The new openings, the fall's community events and the neighborhood's daily errands, though, keep landing farther south. Below is how that plays out between now and Thanksgiving.
The block around South Olive Elementary
Palm Beach Now reported in July that Parma would open "behind South Olive Elementary, across from Don Ramon, just north of Aioli, and a few blocks from the new Trader Joe's." According to the same report, the family behind Joseph's Classic Market chose the spot "with locals in mind." When three food businesses this different share a few blocks, that stretch becomes the default for a quick lunch, a family dinner and a morning pastry.
Here is what each one brings to the block.
Don Ramon Restaurante Cubano, 7101 S. Dixie Hwy. This is the long-running anchor. The restaurant's menu highlights its Cuban sandwich and ropa vieja. The Palm Beach Post called it "known across West Palm Beach for serving up Cuban classics" when it reported that Guy Fieri's "Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives" would feature the restaurant on May 29, 2026. Its posted hours run 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The South End Neighborhood Association, known as SENA, held its May 6 mixer there, with the restaurant supplying drinks and appetizers.
Aioli, 7434 S. Dixie Hwy. Aioli is the one people outside the neighborhood know about. It received a Bib Gourmand in the 2025 Florida MICHELIN Guide, WPBF reported. The MICHELIN Guide's entry is built around the in-house bakery and singles out the black bean-tomatillo soup, a roasted-vegetable sandwich and the lemon loaf. The restaurant also posts daily specials on its own site.
Parma Palm Beach, 7170 S. Dixie Hwy. This is the newcomer, and it isn't open yet. Palm Beach Now's July report expected a September or October opening. WhatNow reported on September 21 that no exact date had been announced. As of today, the restaurant's site still says only "Opening Fall 2026."
The planned menu leans on other South Florida bakers and roasters. Sourdough sandwiches will use bread from Bread by Johnny, toasts will use sourdough from Lingonberry Café, and coffee will come from Floridian Coffee Roasters. The menu also lists house-made focaccia, chopped salads and wraps, smoothies and pastries. The plan includes a walk-up to-go window plus an indoor dining room meant to feel "more like a luxury restaurant than a typical sandwich shop." This will be the family's second West Palm Beach location after Joseph's Classic Market on Belvedere Road.
Why the errands moved south too
The grocery picture explains why this end of Dixie gets more foot traffic now. Trader Joe's opened at 8111 S. Dixie Highway, at the Gregory Road intersection, on June 12, 2026, according to the Palm Beach Post. That puts a weekly grocery trip a short drive from the Don Ramon and Aioli block.
Farther north, the Southend lost a corridor fixture this year. Oriental Food Market, the Thai takeout counter and specialty grocery at 4919 S. Dixie Highway, closed March 1 after more than 40 years. The Post reported that its lease was not renewed. So the year added a national grocer at the south end of the corridor and took away a decades-old specialty market in the middle.
The design district in between
The SoSo Design District covers the stretch between Antique Row and the new food cluster. Palm Beach Illustrated describes it as running from south of Southern Boulevard to just past Forest Hill Boulevard, along both Georgia Avenue and South Dixie. The owners of Chelsea Lane & Co. and Palm Beach Regency started it, modeled on the Miami Design District. PBI's 2025 guide profiled these shops:
- Palm Beach Regency sells vintage and tropical decor. Owner Korinne Belock's team brings in close to 100 new pieces every week.
- Chelsea Lane & Co. has what PBI calls the largest wallpaper and fabric library in Palm Beach County.
- Dina C's Fab & Funky Consignment Boutique has sold high-end resale clothing since 2010.
- Caribe Home sells outdoor furniture, founded by Andrew and Fabiola Berman.
- Pure by Hive is a transitional furnishings showroom that shares space with Hive Outdoor.
That guide is from September 2025, so it's a good idea to check hours before you drive over. Caribe Home, at least, is clearly still part of neighborhood life. SENA held a social mixer at its 5301 S. Dixie showroom on October 1.
The district's own events fill the space between the shops. The SoSo Sunset Market's spring edition on May 9 was billed as an end-of-season market with more than 20 local makers and artists, complimentary cocktails and live music. It comes back this fall at the same address, 5710 S. Dixie.
The fall calendar, in order
These dates come from the SENA South End Calendar and the SoSo Design District events page. Two of the four are on or near the South Olive Elementary block.
- Tuesday, October 20, 6:30 to 8 p.m.: SENA Annual General Membership Meeting. It's in the South Olive Elementary cafeteria at 7101 South Olive Avenue. District 5 Commissioner Steve Sylvester will give a "State of the South End" update. The invitation is open to residents and local stakeholders.
- Saturday, October 31, 5 to 9 p.m.: Southend Halloween Block Party. The residents of Murray Road and East Lakewood are hosting it as a neighborhood block party.
- Friday, November 20, 7 to 11 p.m.: LEEDS Foundation Party with the Pack. This fundraiser at 435 Southern Boulevard supports people living with disabilities in the community.
- Saturday, November 21, 5 to 8 p.m.: SoSo Sunset Market. It's at 5710 S. Dixie Hwy, with food, drinks, live music and local vendors. RSVP is free through Eventbrite.
If you want more after that, the SENA board meets the night before the LEEDS event, Thursday, November 19, at 6:30 p.m. at the South Olive Community Center, 345 Summa Street. Its meetings are open to the public. For events downtown, Frater Realty keeps a running downtown West Palm Beach events page.
Lane closures this fall
The Halloween party's host street is also on this fall's roadwork list. The City of West Palm Beach's October 7 road report lists sanitary-sewer lining, with intermittent lane closures through December 2026, on Murray Road, Linda Lane, Palmetto Street, Bunker Ranch Road, Putnam Ranch Road, Russlyn Drive and Rilyn Drive. All of these side streets connect to Dixie. The closures are intermittent, so conditions change from day to day.
The bigger Dixie project is north of the neighborhood. FDOT's resurfacing of U.S. 1 runs from Belvedere Road to south of Okeechobee Boulevard. It started in April 2026 and is scheduled through early 2027. The same report lists a northbound outside-lane closure from Barcelona Road to Acacia Road through fall 2026. You'll run into it heading downtown on Dixie, not on the stretch between Southern and Forest Hill.
Frater Realty is based downtown, and the Southend is one of the neighborhoods we keep up with closely. The Southend neighborhood page has more on its streets and homes, and our new restaurants roundup covers openings across the city. If you have questions about the blocks around South Olive Elementary, or want to talk about what new neighbors like Parma could mean for a home nearby, Frater Realty is happy to help. Contact Us.
