Update – why the Ventanitas are important. This issue is becoming more about truth in government than what kind of coffee you drink and where you get it.

Credibility is important. Facts are facts. Palmetto Bay would rather engage the social media crisis managers rather than taking the issue on responsibly.  I was shopping for my mother earlier this week at the Publix located at 7805 SW 40th St (some may remember this location as where the Tropicare Drive In Theatre and weekend swap meet were once located). The photos of the walk up windows at Publix is what is being debated in Palmetto Bay:

How are the walk up windows so offensive to some that they want to ban them in Palmetto Bay?
FAIR QUESTION: Who sees a threat in a ventanita? What problem was being solved in enacting the ban on walk up window sales?

After looking at the pictures and after assessing the controversy created, what Palmetto Bay officials may want to now say is: Oh, you wanted a ventanita, we thought you wanted a walk up sales window! Why didn’t you say so in the first place?

But seriously, a ventanita is simply a walk up window. Vicky’s Bakery asked for one and was denied - that is an undeniable fact. Vicky’s Bakery is an established local business with several locations in Miami-Dade County, one with a successful track record that is willing to invest by opening at what has recently become a revolving door location. 

It's not easy to bring in a local business with a solid tract record. It is much easier to drive them off. Long time locals will remember that Vicky’s Bakery is now located where Ranch House, Flamingo’s, Coopers and others once tried to make a go of it. Why can’t this current mayor and her administration try to encourage the success of a new business? Why do they have to make it hard to both open as well as operate a business here? Are they that excited about new businesses that they want to see more revolving doors?

HINT: There is a problem if you are cutting a grand opening ribbon every few years at the same location.

Let’s look at the fiction being spun in order to deflect from the issue; the claim that  --- one can get Cuban coffee in Palmetto Bay – so what? Who said you can’t buy or drink Cuban coffee in Palmetto Bay? I can and do get it, both at home and out. That has never been an issue. However:

The truth and the issue: You can’t get your coffee (of any variety) or any other item when purchased through a walk up window. A ventanita is a walk up window.

The spin put out by the village officials as well as their social media allies is both ridiculous and disingenuous

Again, take the time to view as this just a 21 second video clip – watch it for yourself.

Can we just see this current mayor and council own up to the issue and make it right?

Are the mayor and the council unaware as to what they voted on or are they desperately dog paddling for air to deflect, deny and escape what they have done?

More people are now watching this current mayor and council and that is good. We will continue to separate fact from fictional spin. This is government and it must be held to the standard required in the Village Charter. See September 23, 2020, Palmetto Bay Charter - Citizens' Bill of Rights - requires Truth in Government by our elected officials and employees.

Stay tuned. Demand truth in government.

For more background and additional details, see the prior related post of October 26, 2021, Facts are important. Claims from Palmetto Bay elected officials and staff, stating that Ventanitas are not “banned”, do not appear to line up with the experience of Vicky’s Bakery, the updated ordinance or staff presentation at the hearing. Read/see for yourself.