Duval Street Cosmetic Shop Protested

Protestors from the Key West Rip-Off Rapid Response Team held signs and waved Conch Republic flags in front of Oro Gold, a cosmetic shop, at 518 Duval Street Tuesday morning.

The local consumer action group is protesting against Oro Gold and launching a campaign against the notorious business. The group says Oro Gold rips off tourists, harasses pedestrians and gives Key West a bad name.

The business has received countless consumer complaints, many citations and two license suspensions for code violations. In October Oro Gold received a ten day license suspension by the City Manager for repeated code violations.

Rip-Off Team spokesman Tevis Wernicoff said, “Our reputation as a tourist destination is at stake.These rip-off shops tear at the very heart of our image and this store is the worst.”

The group announced they will continue sidewalk picketing in front of the Duval Street business indefinitely.

“Picketing is the only thing that gets their attention and we will continue picketing until they shape up and ship out. Key West is better than this.” added Wernicoff.

The Rip-Off Rapid Response team is recruiting new volunteers and plans to expand both its picketing on Duval Street and its educational picketing for cruise ship passengers.The group can be contacted at [email protected] or on facebook.