The Key West Rip-Off Rapid Response Team celebrated the second anniversary of closing the last unlicensed cosmetic shop in Key West with a victory party on Feb. 15 at Willie T’s on Duval Street.
The local consumer advocate group waged a five-year battle against the cosmetic shops known for deceptive sales practices, multiple code violations and aggressive sidewalk soliciting. The group helped victims recover money, lobbied for stricter code enforcement and staged sidewalk protests against the shops, which at one point numbered 14 separate businesses on Duval and Front streets.
The group is asking local landlords not to rent to this kind of business again.
Spokesperson Tevis Wernicoff said, “It would be a bad mistake to rent to one of these unlicensed cosmetics shops. Our team will resume picketing the first day one opens and our group will not let these businesses return to Key West. They reflect very badly on any community that allows them.”
