Lincoln Road restaurants are suing Miami Beach over alfresco dining permits – CBS Miami

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Tapelia and Ole Ole on Lincoln Road are suing the city of Miami Beach for denying their permits for al fresco dining.

In the 90-page lawsuit, the restaurant’s group of owners, Lincoln Theater, said it was unaware that previous violations that were fixed or dismissed could cost them renewal of their permits.

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As businesses are mostly outdoors, restaurants without street cafes will have to close by the end of the month.

Jose Arenas, 75, is devastated by the news.

“I’m going over, have a seat. I enjoy so much. This is my house. Feels like a house here, ”said Arenas.

Arenas has dined at Tapelia for 10 years and even followed the restaurant to its location on Lincoln Road.

“I come here every night. It feels like family, ”said Arenas. “I’ve never seen anything wrong here.”

The city disagreed, however, and denied permission to 13 South Beach companies to continue operating outdoor cafes based on new criteria.

“The city does not want to approve the approval for next year of the street cafe,” said Rodrigo Salazar, one of the managers of Tapelia. “They are based on previous violations and worst of all, they removed them in court. Makes no sense.”

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The rejections cannot be appealed and companies cannot reapply for a year. Many of the restaurants, like Tapelia, do 90% or more of their business with al fresco dining.

“Basically we have to close,” said Salazar.

Miami Beach City Commissioner Mark Samuelian said he fully supported the city council in their decision and was part of the city’s overall strategy to clean up the city and make it more attractive to locals as well.

“These companies need to step up their game and solve the problem,” said Samuelian, pointing out violations against various companies for promotions, improper signage and “bait and switches” – when customers think they are getting something special.

“We expect significantly fewer violations. We expect significantly fewer calls to our code enforcement and police. And we don’t expect to see reviews where people say this place cheated on me, ”said Samuelian.

The letter denying Tapelia’s sidewalk cafe clearance points to eight alleged violations in 2020 – one of them for sale / solicitation. It also points out the owners’ “history of pavement violations”.

Salazar feels that the punishment is not fair and that it is not worth costing so many people their jobs.

“We don’t have any schnapps. It’s like a family place. We close at 12. There is nothing dangerous here, ”said Salazar.

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In the lawsuit, restaurant owners said without authorization they would have to close by November 30.

The post Lincoln Road restaurants are suing Miami Beach over alfresco dining permits – CBS Miami first appeared on Daily Florida Press.

from Daily Florida Press https://dailyfloridapress.com/lincoln-road-restaurants-are-suing-miami-beach-over-alfresco-dining-permits-cbs-miami/