[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 186 (Thursday, December 1, 2022)]
[House]
[Page H8678]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        REMEMBERING FELIPE VALLS

  (Mr. GIMENEZ asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. GIMENEZ. Madam Speaker, I rise today to mourn the loss and honor 
the incredible life of Mr. Felipe Valls.
  Felipe Valls was a giant of the Cuban exile community in Miami and 
founded the iconic Versailles Restaurant in Little Havana.
  Valls was born in Santiago de Cuba in 1933. He attended the 
prestigious Riverside Military Academy in Georgia and returned to his 
hometown after graduating in 1950. When he was 27 years old, Valls 
escaped the Communist revolution with his wife and two children.
  In Miami, he found work in the restaurant business; first as a 
busboy, and then at a restaurant equipment company. He then opened 
International Equipment Company, which sold restaurant equipment such 
as refrigeration, air conditioners, and espresso machines that he 
imported from Europe.
  It was at this time that Valls invented the ventanita, the now 
ubiquitous window stands where locals gather for their morning shot of 
Cuban coffee. In 1971, Valls opened Versailles Restaurant on Calle 
Ocho. Today, it is the most famous Cuban restaurant in Miami and 
possibly the world.

  Versailles is a culinary, social, and cultural landmark in Miami. It 
has served delicious Cuban pastries, sandwiches, and cafecitos for more 
than 50 years. It is one of the first places that any visitor to Miami 
will go, and three U.S. Presidents have eaten there.
  In Felipe Valls' own words, Versailles ``is where you come to take 
the pulse of our community . . . Versailles is the Cuban exile that 
refuses to kneel down.'' I believe that Versailles is the heart of the 
Cuban exile community in Miami.
  Felipe is survived by his loving children and grandchildren, who 
continue his family's proud legacy. His long life reflected those of so 
many hardworking Cuban exiles who built a new community in Miami. He 
will be missed. May he rest in peace.

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