Hello Miami Springs Community.
I don’t post often and never rant, but feel a strong need to do both at the moment.
I have served/lived in Miami Springs for almost forty years. Anna and I have successfully run Burritoville for over sixteen years. Since opening in 2007 we have been closed on Sunday with the exception of the Sunday at the end of the River Cities Festival. We have historically received a boost of dine-in business from the sheer number of people attending the festival. In addition, it is being literally in the center of our community’s most important event.
Last year, however, various factors came together to make it an extremely poor weekend, sales-wise. The event planners put a restaurant with a barbecue smoker right outside my front door, a loud generator spewing noxious fumes into my neighbor’s salon making it nearly impossible to sit at our outside tables comfortably and at least two food trucks offering the same type of food we have within fifty feet in both directions.
Realizing the vendors were not at fault, I contacted the event coordinators, if for no other reason, to prevent this happening at next year’s festival.
As many of you already know, for the first time in fifteen years, we chose not to open that Sunday purely from a business standpoint. It just was’t worth opening.
In the ensuing year, I reached out several times to festival organizers to express my concerns. I was assured they would be taken into account. Much to my surprise, (not my first choice of words) the Friday afternoon of this years festival I discovered a booth in front of my restaurant with a large banner that read “Taco Bravo” – serving quesadillas, tacos and burrito bowls.
For lack of a better word, I was appalled, but surprised to find most of my customers were more upset than me.
I feel no need to place blame on anyone, I just don’t want it to happen again. I am asking business owner on and around the circle to join me in forming a coalition to influence what vendors can take part and where to place them. It is my belief that no operating business should be forced to contend with any vendor placed directly in front of their business.
Please feel free to contact me at Burritoville with your support and suggestions on how to move forward.
We will continue to serve our community and participate in future festivals in what we hope to be a more inclusive manner
Thank you,
Jeff and Anna
Submit your Letter to the Editor by emailing editor@miamisprings.com.
I support all you said and hope this issue will be resolved for the future. Thank you for operating your fine restaurant in our community for so many years. Much continued success to you.
The city should be shameful of themselves.
Let’s see if they correct the problem.