My dad loved Louis’. I was never a fan. I think the Ralph’s in Chiefland was owned by the same people. I don’t think it is anymore, but I’ve heard they didn’t change the food, not much anyway.
I'm happy to read that La Tienda is still around. Is the Jamaican place still there on University? On another note, people are talking about spicy. We used to like the wings at Farrah's because they were gigantic. The place had a cool vibe too with the long bar and covered patio seating. Anyway, one of my roomies got the [nuclear] wings one night and I just couldn't take more than one bite. It was way too much.
Is the pizza place on S Main St still there? I think it was Tony & Pats? I played many a duo gig there in the mid 2000s.
Tony and Pats was on Archer when I went there. In the old Winn Dixie strip. I think that whole strip was torn down for the Kohls that’s there now.
Not Tony & Pat's which was in the Winn-Dixie Plaza on the SW corner of Archer and 34th Street. The name of the one you are talking about escapes me, but its gone just like Tony & Pat's is gone.
Thanks y'all. Yeah, I don't remember the name of the pizza shop on south main. They had a nice big outdoor patio. Sorry to hear that it's gone. What about Emiliano's, the tapas place?
The building and patio are still there. There is something else in there if it is open at all. They built a hotel that is right on top of whatever was next door to the South. Emiliano's also closed and in my last jaunt by there was still closed. They survived the pandemic, but I heard that the owners wanted to retire, but either they couldn't find a buyer or didn't want to sell their business as is.
Really, there isn't a lot of Mom & Pop type restaurants left other than the high-end stuff like Spurrier's and Embers. Downtown Amelia's is still open. The original Hogan's is still open and so is Leonardo's Milhopper, but that is about all I can think of that is left from when I showed up in 1985. This has just become a chain restaurant town and you can see why when students are lined up like cattle to get a table almost every night of the week at those Butler plaza places.
Reggae Shack is still here. I remember when Farrah's was call Godfathers. IIRC they had to change the name because of Godfather's Pizza. Long gone seafood places Lafite's and Aw Shucks were favorites. The Lafite's venue was Wolfgang's for a few years. That was awesome dining. The trophy shop at the corner of 6th and 23rd was a place called Bogart's and then Rockefeller's. One of my favorite places to go was Nap's way out west. The building was something like East Winds before that and Nap's was a small venue just off of Tower Road that became a Maui Teriyaki. Graduation dinners were often at the Sovereign. Not really a place to eat but Dub's was legendary.
Now it is some sort of Muslim temple. Much further out was the place just over the Marion County line where back in the "dry" era you could get a drink. I think they were famous for a heart of palm salad with pistachio ice cream or something like that.
I think you are the first I ever heard say they didn't care for Louis. My family loved it. I remember going there as a young kid in the early 60's.
All those places were great and no Mc Donalds until they came and ran Chandlers out of business. Woodys and Doug's Dairy Twirl were the place to go for great sandwiches and burgers in my neighborhood.
I went to Georgia Boys on Archer Road for lunch often in the early 1980's. Really good Brunswick stew.
This is very interesting. The owner/chef was Andy Fass, who passed away suddenly several years ago. Andy was a terrific saxophonist who played in our soul band for a while. He studied culinary and fulfilled his dream of making Amelia's a very special place with his personal touch all over it, including chef visits to each table. I'm surprised to hear that it remains open.
Also gone, both locations. They moved out west and had pretty good support for a number of years, but several chain type restaurants opened in the same area (Jonesville) lately and they closed up shop.
