Lansdale Business Investor: Strahm Not Good for Council

My name is Celso Leite and I am a property owner and investor in Lansdale. I recently spent $200,000 to rehabilitate 303 and 305 West Main Street, which are now the homes to Royal Comics and Gaming and Theater and Kids. I am also spending $2 million to build a high-end apartment complex in the back of 303 and 305 Main Street, which replaces a dilapidated eye sore in town. In a nutshell, I will commit close to $3 million dollars to improving downtown Lansdale and, hopefully, will spend more in the future.

Why I am writing this letter? I am writing this letter because I have serious reservations about a Lansdale council candidate, Richard Strahm, who is running for Borough Council.

In the fall of 2012, Mr. Strahm felt the need to inform all of the members of the Economic Development Committee via an email (a violation of the Sunshine Law that prevents closed door discussions of public issues) that my restaurant, Na’Brasa Brazilian Steakhouse, in Horsham, had an issue with the Department of Labor.

This misunderstanding was subsequently settled amicably without penalties or fines. (Please see the Philadelphia Inquirer article that details the dispute, http://www.philly.com/philly/business/breaking/175897051.html.)

Unfortunately, Mr. Strahm never consulted with me to get my side of the story.

Why did Mr. Strahm send out this email? He sent out this email to cast a negative light on me for reasons unknown (Perhaps, my plan for an apartment complex didn’t fit with a certain administrator’s plan for the rest of the Madison Parking Lot; I can only speculate).

For anyone who is curious to see what my business is, please visit my website at http://www.nabrasa.com/ or visit in person at 680 North Easton Road in Horsham.

In short, I would hope that I am the type of investor Lansdale wants, yet Mr. Strahm threw me under the bus with his misguided, blanket email to the other members of the Economic Development Committee, casting doubt upon my intentions here in Lansdale.

My investment in Lansdale speaks for itself. Needless to say, I was more than a little upset when I heard of Mr. Strahm’s email. Because of Mr. Strahm, I now question Lansdale’s desire to welcome business.

Is this the type of councilman that Lansdale wants? Someone who scares away investors for some unknown agenda? As someone who has already committed to spending a lot of money in Lansdale, and sees a future in Lansdale, I would ask you to take a second look at Mr. Strahm’s claims that he wants more businesses and restaurants in Lansdale.

From an investor’s and a restaurateur’s point of view, Strahm for council is not a step in the right direction for Lansdale’s future.

Respectfully submitted,
Celso Leite

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