🌱 Patch AM: Is your Aventura Mall GameStop on the closure list?

Hey there, Aventura! Let's get started with what's happening in and around town. Read on and stay in the loop. ☕️️

In today's newsletter:

• Is your Aventura Mall GameStop on the closure list?
• Why a Miami killer with Aventura ties now walks free by day
• How an Aventura commissioner views Maduro’s fall from afar

Also on today's calendar: Gregg L. Friedman MD Psychiatry and 7 more events.

Today's riddle: What did one pirate say to the other? 🤔 (Answer below!)

Weather forecast:

• Saturday: Breezy in the a.m.; sunshine, with a high of 81 and low of 69 degrees.
• Sunday: An afternoon shower or two, temps: high: 82, low: 68.
• Monday: A bit of rain in the morning, with a high of 75 and low of 69 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

• Major Retailer Closing 20 FL Locations (patch.com) — Aventura gamers will soon lose their local GameStop, with the Aventura Mall store on Biscayne Boulevard among 20 Florida locations closing as part of a nationwide downsizing. The retailer is shrinking its brick-and-mortar footprint as more customers shift to digital gaming, and it expects to shut even more stores through the end of its 2025 fiscal year.
   

• Filmmaker who killed man in Miami now gets to make pizzas in Italy (miamiherald.com) — Aventura readers may note that convicted Italian filmmaker Enrico “Chico” Forti once owned two condos in a Watson Island complex described as being in Aventura, even as his high-profile Miami murder case now plays out in Italy. After serving decades in Florida prisons, he’s been transferred to Italy, where courts have granted him work release despite objections from Miami-Dade prosecutors and Florida officials.
   

• After years in exile, Venezuelan Jews celebrate the fall of Maduro (jewishinsider.com) — Aventura City Commissioner Paul Kruss, himself part of the Venezuelan Jewish diaspora, reflects on how a once-vibrant 28,000-strong Jewish community in Caracas has dwindled amid years of crisis. Local Venezuelan Jews in South Florida, including those settled near Aventura, are reacting with emotional relief and cautious hope after the U.S. captured Nicolás Maduro, while debating what real change in Venezuela might look like.
   

📸 Around Aventura

Show off your photography skills and the sights around town! Click here to submit your Photo of the Day to Patch AM!

🗓 Upcoming Events in Aventura

Add your event to our calendar and newsletter!

★ Featured events ★

Saturday January 10

• The Dean Martin Story
  Aventura Arts & Cultural Center, 3385 NE 188th St, Aventura
  7:30 pm

Want to see your event featured? Click here!

Other local events

Saturday January 10

• The Sinatra Experience with Dave Halston
  Aventura Arts & Cultural Center , 3385 NE 188th St , Aventura
  7:30 pm

Sunday January 11

• Two Piano Extravaganza: Kemal Gekic & Kristina Miller
  Aventura Arts & Cultural Center , 3385 NE 188th St , Aventura
  5:00 pm

Monday January 12

• Gregg L. Friedman MD Psychiatry
  2500 E Hallandale Beach Blvd, Suite 702, Hallandale Beach, FL, 33009
  9:00 am
• Talking is Teaching - Talk, Read, Sing for Preschoolers
  Sunny Isles Beach Branch Library Sunny Isles Beach Branch -
  11:00 am
• Talking is Teaching - Talk, Read, Sing for Toddlers
  Northeast Dade-Aventura Branch -
  11:30 am
• Chess Club
  Northeast Dade-Aventura Branch -
  4:00 pm

Tuesday January 13

• Chess Club for Tweens and Teens
  Sunny Isles Beach Branch Library Sunny Isles Beach Branch -
  4:00 pm
• Talking is Teaching - Talk, Read, Sing for Preschoolers
  Northeast Dade-Aventura Branch -
  4:30 pm

Friday January 23

• Antinori Wine Dinner at Casa D'Angelo Aventura
  Casa D'Angelo , 2906 NE 207th St , Aventura
  7:30 pm

📣 Aventura Shout Outs!

Want to say something great about someone in town? Click here to submit your Shout Out to Patch AM! It's free!

🗓 Events Nearby

Saturday January 10

• 2026 Fitness Challenge
  Miami Gardens, FL Calendar , 3000 NW 199th Street , Miami Gardens
  8:00 am
• Get in Gear Community Bike Ride
  North Miami, FL Calendar North Miami, FL 33161
  8:00 am
• South Florida Calligraphy Guild Workshop
  Northeast Dade-Aventura Branch - Auditorium
  10:00 am
• Citizenship Class
  Sunny Isles Beach Branch Library Sunny Isles Beach Branch -
  10:00 am

Have we missed something on our calendar? Add an event yourself! As always, before attending confirm event details to ensure accuracy.

Thank you 👏👏👏 to the local businesses for making Aventura PatchAM possible:

• Mindsee.it — (646) 663-8317
  Teach your kids they can achieve the impossible!
• Charlotte Tomic Real Estate Associate — (917) 882-5243
  New York Savvy Florida Style Realtor

Click here to show your appreciation! 💚

Want to see your business here? Click here to connect with local customers.

💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

• Please share & repost to help reunite this stray dog!
  FOUND on January 7, 2026 in Miami-Dade County, FL 33180 near 195th st Sharing for a neighbor. For the latest information or to contact the finder,… (Nextdoor Portsview at the Waterways)

🗞 Nearby News

Sunny Isles Beach

• Brian Ferdinand, Founder Of Collapsed Hotel Chain, Files For Bankruptcy (bisnow.com)

North Miami

Ok Aventura! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!

-- The Patch AM Team

P.S. The answer to today's riddle: I sea you!
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Send it to us!

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