Archive for the ‘Florida’ tag
Le Clos, 20 South 2nd Street (Fernandina Beach): 10 April 2023 no comments
Le Clos was a little French restaurant in a 1906 cottage just across the street from the Hampton Inn in Fernandina Beach's historic waterfront district. I'm not a big French cuisine fan (at least for main dishes), but the pasta looked very good, so I stopped by one night and can verify it was excellent, along with (as you would expect) great bread, and a fantastic creme brulee.
I was surprised then on my most recent visit to see the place with the sign down and stripped internally. At first the story seemed rather clear-cut as described here: The owner decided to close the place, although she was able to place the staff at other local spots. A thread on TripAdvisor suggests a more confusing story, as does the cafe's web site which suggests it may re-open this fall.
Whatever comes next, it appears the building will need some work.
B&B Theatres Amelia Island, 1132 South 14th Street (Fernandina Beach): 27 January 2021 no comments
I wrote in 2016 about the closing of Island Cinema 7 in Fernandina Beach. Somewhat to my surprise, instead of staying vacant, or becoming a dollar cinema, B&B Theaters moved into the spot and the Island once again had a first-run movie theater.
I saw several films there under the new regime, and it was pretty nice. I know I saw one there in December of 2021, but I am currently unable to remember what it was, which is too bad, as it will be the last.
The Fernandina News Leader reports that the theaters closed on 27 January 2021, a little more than a month after I was there last. Apparently the spece is to become doctors' offices, though I saw no signs of that upfit during my visit in May 2022.
As before, the closest theater is now on A1A coming into the Island from Yulee.
The Marina Restaurant, 101 Centre Street (Fernandina Beach): 24 April 2022 no comments
Barberitos, 1519 Sadler Road (Fernandina Beach): Fall 2021 no comments
I wonder if Barberitos is struggling? As I noted here and here, both Midlands locations of the chain closed some time ago. Personally I liked this Fernandina Beach location better than either of those as it had ground beef as a topping which for some odd reason the SC locations did not (ground turkey is *not* the same thing). My only issue here (as with all locations) is that the chips were so fragile you couldn't really dip with them.
There was also a location a bit further up A1A towards Yulee FL, which also seems to have vanished in the same time-frame as this one. My guess is they were the same franchaise, which according to some google reviews was new ownership after the initial pandemic closure.
I have put 1519 for the street address here as both google & yelp agree on it and it is on the front door. However the actual number painted on the glass on the west side is 1515 for some reason, as you can see.
Grandpa's Steakhouse, 3660 King Street (Cocoa Florida): 5 May 2018 1 comment
The Crab Trap, 31 North 2nd Street: Early 2021 (Temporary) (Fernandina Beach) no comments
During my Fourth of July visit to Fernandina Beach, I noticed that the historic Crab Trap restaurant on
Second Street was closed and gutted. We never ate there growing up, as my parents knew it was a fight to get me into a seafood restaurant, but as an adult I always meant to go someday have have the key-lime pie, probably with a burger up front.
I'm not sure when they closed, but looking around google & yelp & co, it appears that the last specific reviews are towards the end of 2020. I believe I would have noticed if it had been closed during my December visit, so I'm going to guess early 2021 as the date.
Their facebook page has announced they will be re-opening, and the way it is phrased sounds like it wasn't a sure thing. I'm still not sure it's a sure thing, as the place looks somewhat gutted, and nowhere near ready. We will see. I hope they make it.
The Desert Inn, 5570 South Kenansville Road, Yeehaw Junction Florida: 22 December 2019 no comments
That Was The Week That Was: July 2020 3 comments
Dairy Queen, 462540 State Road 200 Yulee Florida: Fall 2017 2 comments
I noticed on my last trip to Fernandina, that this old-school Dairy Queen on historic Florida Route A1A, just off of I-95 in Yulee Florida was closed. (You can see it, poorly, in operation in the first shot).
If I had to guess a cause, it would be the interminable road construction on this stretch of A1A, which has made this parking lot almost inaccessible, especially if west bound. Of course the walk-up design has its drawbacks as well: One review advises eating in your car to avoid the no-see-ums.
For now the nearby produce & souvenir stand is holding on despite the acess problems. I would be sad to see that go, as it has been there forever, and always has good citrus & candies.
