Jasmely D. Jackson: Anything But Tipico

Club Tipico Dominicano is more than just an anchor business in Miami’s Little Santo Domingo neighborhood of Allapattah. For nearly 35 years, it has been a community hub, local business booster and a cultural gatekeeper. The first and last stop where people could find authentic Dominican music and meals in a city that often forgets there is more than one island in the Caribbean.

It’s a responsibility of food and fun that founder Luis De La Cruz has passed down to his daughter Jasmely D. Jackson -- one that she has embraced by being equally dedicated to tradition and innovation.

As hipsters prepare to descend on Miami for Art Basel, we sit down and talk to Jasmely about Tipico’s legacy, its future amid a quickly gentrifying neighborhood and the challenge of keeping both the food and the music fresh for today’s audiences.

photo credit: the New Tropic