Mojitos on the Move

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Don't bother putting on your dancing shoes--Mojitos is moving?

On several occasions, Mojito’s plead its case to stay opened longer. The last public plea was at City Hall on August 18, 2009. The owner had his attorney, Dennis Koehler. Koehler, who sounded as if he was in a court room trying a case before a Judge, accused all of us who spoke as “an unruly mob”--typical attorney “double-speak.” Attorneys can do that without flickering an eyelash. Mojito's request?--grant them a waiver allowing them to stay opened until 5am which would enable them to become a nightclub instead of a bar. This would instantly make the property more valuable.

First they were turned down by the P&Z Board. John Paxman recused himself that night because of dealings with the establishment. Three voting for Mojitos on the P&Z were Spinelli (the only one of the trio still on the Board due to his term still in effect), LeBlanc and Foreman. One of them even went so far as to make a disingenuous statement that it was "disingenuous to snatch the rug from under them; it has always been a bar." In spite of our ordinances, Mojitos continued to stay open after 2am. After 80 years, it didn't want to be just a bar.

The majority City Commission had good sense. Turning down Mojito's request were Jennings, Golden and Mulvehill. Clemens and Lowe who voted "for" are no longer in office. This is just another example of responsible government that has taken place with this Commission.

Now we can see first-hand how sincere Mojitos was in its request for a waiver. After they admitted in a public meeting that they had been staying opened way past hours all along, Code got after them and gave them friendly persuasion to close per ordinance. It is moving and selling off its inventory just four months after its failed request. It's a bummer not getting your way in Lake Worth. What's next? New business? The sale of the property?