MIAMI — A weekend visit to Cao Bakery and Cafe in Pinecrest by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and congressional candidate Eliott Rodriguez triggered a wave of complaints against the Cuban American-owned cafe, which found itself caught in a storm of political criticism for merely opening its doors to campaigning Democrats.

The criticism rose after conservative social media influencer Josue Alvarez shared a video calling out Cao Bakery for hosting Jeffries, saying he works with democratic socialists in his party. In the clip, Alvarez accused the business’ owners of turning their back on their roots as descendants of Cuban immigrants who escaped communism.

“What happens when the generations that inherit these institutions no longer share the same political boundaries as the people who built them?” he asked in the video, which has garnered more than 180,000 views and 2,000 comments. “I would genuinely like Cao Bakery’s ownership to address this publicly, and Miami, I think you should demand the same.”

Both Jeffries and Rodriguez have repeatedly condemned socialism. At Friday’s event, reporters asked Rodriguez where he stands on the issues championed by his more progressive party colleagues. Rodriguez, who is running in Florida’s 27th Congressional District, denounced socialism, saying that, like most Cubans, he is “very well aware” of what communism has done to the Cuban community and is “far from that.”

Yet, that did not stop online backlash, with critics targeting the small cafe chain across Instagram and Google reviews, where one reviewer labeled the event a “socialist campaign.”

Yvette Cao, partner and chief marketing officer of Cao, told the Miami Herald after the event Friday that she received a call Thursday morning from one of Rodriguez’s campaign staff, whom she attended high school with, and he asked her if they could stop by with “a little bit of press.”

She said she agreed because “we are proud Cuban Americans like Eliott, and we support, you know, anti-communism, a free Cuba, a democratic Cuba.

“So for us as Cuban Americans, and that’s who we represent, and that’s who our brand is,” she said. “So we just thought that, you know, this was a good opportunity for the community, and to have him and host him and welcome him here.”

Cao made clear that she was nonpartisan and that the event was not an endorsement of Rodriguez. She said both Rodriguez and incumbent U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar, his Republican opponent, are fighting for Cuban Americans to be able to raise their children in an affordable Miami.

After Alvarez’s video went viral, Cao released a statement condemning socialism and saying that it stood for a “Cuban American community for a free Cuba.”

The social media statement has over 1,000 comments, many expressing support for the local business.

Rodriguez is now accusing Salazar of hurting the business and siccing her influencer supporters on Cao.

“Local businesses are hurting and María Elvira Salazar’s goon squad is trying to destroy a small business in her district with a modern-day “acto de repudio” just like the communists they pretend to hate,” he said.

“When I’m in Congress,” he added, “I will continue to support small businesses and working people whether they are Republicans, Democrats or Independents. Unlike Salazar, I believe in freedom, democracy and capitalism.”

The Miami bakery tussle widened when Salazar visited Vicky Bakery, another Miami chain. The business also issued a statement condemning socialism after Alvarez, the influencer, linked it to Cao because they share a founding family despite being separate businesses with different owners.

In a statement to the Herald Monday, Salazar said Rodriguez brought “the man who wants to lead the socialists in Congress into a Cuban bakery in Miami and, in one move, showed just how little he knows this community.” She also accused her opponent of using Cao as a “political prop” that has “left the business dealing with the fallout.”

“It is an insult to parade this ideology through a community built by survivors of socialism and embrace the very people who champion it,” she said. “If Eliott does not understand the people he is asking to serve, how can Miami trust him in Congress?”

Justin Chermol, a spokesperson for the House Democratic leader, said Jeffries attended the event with Rodriguez because he was a trusted voice in the community.

“Maria Elvira Salazar and the far-right mob attacking a small business is exactly what we would expect from extremists who have no message, no momentum and no plan to make life more affordable for the people of Miami or across America,” he said. “Shame on them.”

The real winner in all of this may be the Miami-Dade Republican Party. Kevin Cooper, the chairman of the local GOP, said the controversy is a signal to the party that its messaging that the “Democratic Party is intrinsic to socialism” is working.

“They can visit a restaurant and say nothing about socialism, and that still will be the subject,” he said.

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