With over 6,000 square feet of retail space, Miami Playground (2657 NW 36th St., Miami) sells lots of merchandise that is geared toward the gay male consumer, such as clothing, underwear, and swimsuits. Since it’s that time of the year, it’s the perfect time to come on down to Miami Playground to check out their extensive selection. While you may know about the adult video arcade with booths in the back of the store, that is just a fraction of the goods and services they offer at Miami Playground. “This is a place where people can stop by and meet up and have great conversations,” owner Dumesh Kankanamalage told me.
I spoke with Mr. Kankanamalage further about the business and why should you stop by as soon as you can.
Tell us a little bit about the store and how you view its place in the marketplace.
We want to show people that this is an interesting store that the community should know about if they don’t yet. Imagine you’re walking through the mall, and you see a store that has everything for your gay life. You don’t see that at malls right now, so what we aim to do is to offer that kind of shopping experience.
It’s very easy to make new friends here too. A lot of people like to come in, make their purchases, take them home and then come back and just chat with the other customers. At any given time there are about 20 to 35 different cars parked outside so there are always people here.
You have a store in Pompano Beach too. How is it different from Miami Playground?
The Pompano Beach location is smaller, it mainly consists of a theater, and unlike the Miami Playground it is geared toward both gay and straight people as opposed to just the gay community.
What would you say to people to get them to check out Miami Playground?
If you stop by and come inside, you will want to come back. We pride ourselves on being a one-stop shop for the gay community and once you see our retail space, you won’t need to go anywhere else.
Miami Playground is open 24 hours a day. For more information, call (305) 638-4957.
