At a time when it’s scary to open a business, especially a restaurant, it seems a new eatery is opening every week around town. So without further ado—and to leave room to mention as many of them as I can—here are few restaurants that have opened their
doors recently.
Starting out in the Forest, just east of the Four Corners, the old Jake’s Place is under new ownership and is now Marie’s Home Cooking, (352) 625-9555. With breakfast, lunch, and dinner served daily from 7am to 8pm, guests enjoy down-home cooking including hamburger gravy over real mashed potatoes; home-style soups; Italian, steak, and seafood dishes; subs; and salads.
Ocala has a new bakery on Jacksonville Road. Cindy Morales opened Sweet Stop Bakery, (352) 236-3600, in the Regency Plaza just north of the three-way stop. Visit her website at thesweetstopbakery.com to view specialty cakes she’s designed and bakery items she has to offer, including fruit Danishes, turnovers, croissants, cookies, fruit and cream pies, and more. Call ahead for a breakfast taco or another favorite on the way to work. Many sugar-free items are available, too.
Horse & Hounds, (352) 690-6100, opened their second location on East Silver Springs Boulevard in the Old Town Village. Visit their website at horseandhoundsocala.com to view their menu, banquet rooms, and location information. Reservations are recom-mended but not required.
Irene and Al Ellatter, owners of Brick City Restaurant and Catering, (352) 867-0905, have moved from their location of 16 years in Silver Springs Shores to Silver Springs Boulevard where The Copper Pot used to be. You’ll see why this restaurant has won numerous Taste of Ocala awards when you visit its website at brickcitycatering.com and view the magic they can do with food for special events. You can also read letters from very satisfied customers. Open for lunch and dinner.
PizzaVito Real New York Pizza, (352) 622-8486, by Dick’s Sporting Goods in Market Square at Heath Brook has opened, and there are a slew of specialty pizzas to choose from, including the NYPD, Chicken or Eggplant Parmesan, Central Park, and Brooklyn Bridge, plus many others named after New York neighborhoods and attractions. Calzones, strombolis, double-stuffed pizzas, and Italian ices (sugar-free, too) round out the menu, and the garlic knots are hard to pass up. Diners can eat inside or out or have it delivered. PizzaVito sells by the slice, too, and beer and wine are available for purchase.
Tripps Bar & Grill, (352) 433-2828, opened in the old Bennigan’s on SR 200 by I-75. Decorated in a sports-bar theme with signed memorabilia and several flat-screen TVs on the walls, Tripps offers an extensive menu with a huge selection of appetizers, all-day drink specials, sandwiches, salads, pastas, seafood, and steaks. Enjoy the Sunday NFL Ticket at no extra charge.
110th Street Grill, (352) 245-9077, has been in Belleview for about a year and has been one of the area’s best-kept secrets, but not if I can help it. Owner Randy Perkins, who also owns Glenview Country Club Restaurant and Mallory Hill Country Club—both in Lady Lake—has followed the tradition of fine dining in this little restaurant but with a more relaxed “Lake Weir” atmosphere. Call for hours.
Nibbles:Cody’s Roadhouse Grill, (352) 237-8182, on SR 200 is now open for lunch at 11am. Felix’s has implemented its new Italian menu as well as a new name, Felix’s Italian Casa, (352) 629-0339. More on its menu and new lunch buffet in future issues.
Next issue: SKY, El Coco Loco, Los Pinos, Tijuana Flats, Cuvee Wine & Bistro, Chef Daniel’s Gourmet Café, and La Cuisine.
