The two-day Mexican celebration Dia de Los Muertos, known as The Day of the Dead, is among Mexico’s most well-loved and sacred traditions. However, one of Gulf Breeze’s youngest restaurants, Pedro’s Taco & Tequila Bar, is facing opposition for its depiction of the holiday through murals on the restaurant’s exterior walls.

Residents have been left wondering what happened as the vibrant murals that once lined the sides of the restaurant were recently painted over with white paint.

Santa Rosa County Planning and Zoning Director Shawn Ward said that the murals violated the county's Land Development Code.

The 364-square-foot mural surpassed the code's size maximum by about 144-square-feet. Pedro’s requested a variance on the size from the zoning board only after the mural had already been painted, Ward said. 

The other issue the county detected was with the sign’s use of advertisement, with messages like “we make fresh tortillas” and “ice cold beer” painted across the front side of the restaurant. This is also prohibited by the Land Development Code, but also can be appealed.

Ward said this rule against advertising was created to maintain aesthetics and consistency in restaurant signage across the county.

When the zoning board met on May 12, Ward said no one from Pedro’s was there to represent the application for the two requested variances. Ultimately, the board made the decision not to grant them.

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With one front sign remaining intact for now, the next step for Pedro is to appeal to the Santa Rosa County Board of Commissioners on June 23. However, Ward said the restaurant will only be appealing the parameters for the front of the building, as opposed to repainting the murals that used to be on the side.

Leading up to the June meeting, community activists, like Nancy Forester, have stepped up to encourage residents to email their commissioners and sign a petition to allow the restaurant to repaint the building’s side murals. The petition also suggests that the county cover expenses needed to recreate the murals.

Forester said code violations within the county make it difficult for new businesses and she said she considered it an “injustice” that the zoning board rejected the variances.

“There are times when exceptions should be made and I believe this is one of them,” Forester wrote in a statement to the News Journal. “The bright, cheerful colors celebrate their culture. It was beautiful and I wanted to help them.”