When in search of a sweet place to shop and dine in Florida, Historic Cocoa Village is as good as any we have visited. To date, our stops have included historic downtown areas in the Sunshine State such as Melbourne, Bartow and Englewood. Each is wonderful in its own special way.

Located along the Space Coast in Southeast Florida, Historic Cocoa Village is laid out on a cluster of streets including Oleander Street, Stone Street and Brevard Avenue. It is perfect for strolling. But remember to bring your comfortable shoes as there’s a lot of ground to cover.

There’s plenty of streetside parking along the tree-lined streets of Historic Cocoa Village

In fact, there are nearly 100 different shops, specialty stores and restaurants from which to choose. Each is more interesting than the last.

Shopping

Shopping options range from delightful fashion locations like Season Tickets Boutique the Beach Bunny Boutique. For accessories try Jon’s Fine Jewelry or The Cocoa Village Artisans. That’s a location where more than a dozen local artists have a wide range of work on display and for sale.

For your four-legged friends and family members, there’s Tails at the Barkery. This is a bakery with designer treats and designer wear for dogs and cats alike. All the cookies are freshly made in the store and a portion of the sales go to local animal rescues.

Tails at the Barkery in Historic Cocoa Village has Smoky Bones, Cheesy Twists and Peppernutters among the different pet cookies available.

A list of merchants is available at most of the storefronts. It indicates about three quarters of them are listed as “dog friendly.”

In short, it’s not difficult to find a little bit of anything along the streets of Historic Cocoa Village. There also are quaint litte set-aparts to explore – such as the Belaire Courtyard Myrt Tharpe Square and the Threadneedle Street Mall. There are a half dozen storefronts in each just waiting to be discovered.

Dining

When you need a break from shopping, there are plenty of wonderful little restaurants of all strata. Those who prefer fine dining might try The Cafe Margeaux or the Tulip Restaurant & Lounge. For more casual dining – Ryans Pizza & Pub or Norman’s Raw Bar & Grille are good options.

We sat down at The Ossorio Bakery & Cafe.

Although Ossorio’s is billed as a french bakery, cafe and pizza parlour – on a hot day, we decided on one of their more than a dozen flavors of ice cream in a cup with two spoons.

Ossorio’s pizza is baked in a real wood oven.

Perhaps one of the most interesting places we found was the Antilles Trading Company. Their numerous signs announced them as “The Pirate Store and Museum.” Once there, we were greeted by “The Sea Gypsy.” As she put it, they cater to freebooters and gentlepeople alike. Inside they offer unique collectibles, well-appointed historical clothing, curios & oddities and a grand collection of meticulously curated treasures.

There is both a wide variety of merchandise for sale and an impressive collection of pirate and period pieces in the museum.

Entertainment

When the day is over, there’s still plenty of nightlife to be had. Of course there are plenty of bars and pubs. There’s the rather boisterous Dog & Bone British Pub, The Von Stephan Village Biergarten, The Time Out Sports Bar and the Village Idiot Pub.

More refined entertainment can be found at the Historic Cocoa Village Playhouse. On any given evening, visitors might see a broadway-style performance, live music, a film or a show by the Summer Musical Theatre Project.

If all that wasn’t enough, there’s a full schedule of special events. There are car shows, arts & crafts shows, holiday observances – even a chili cookoff. Historic Cocoa Village has all the details.

In the end, a trip to Historic Cocoa Village is a must when visiting the Space Coast.