SEMINOLE HEIGHTS, Fla — The popular Seminole Heights restaurant Ella's Americana Folk Art Cafe closed its doors Sunday after being open for 15 years.
“We've been coming here for 12 years. We live in the neighborhood in Seminole Heights. This is one of the first restaurants we came to!" Sandy & Craig Wascovich shared.
Ella's came to town when there wasn’t much else around, and over time it's become a staple in Seminole Heights.
"We've probably tried everything here. I had the biggest ribs I've ever had in my life that almost killed me once with the sodium! I had chicken and waffles today. We've had pizza, steak, pork, fish. The burgers were always great!" the Wascovich's added.
The owner Melissa Deming said they took a big blow during Covid but the community’s support kept them afloat.
"Through everything, the neighborhood has been so strong. We love to say Seminole Heights strong, because everyone is just amazing here... We're sad to leave," Deming said.
Deming told us closing Ella's was one of the hardest decisions she’s ever had to make and while she’s sad to see it go, a new horizon awaits.
"I just reached a point in my life where it was time to move on and do something different in life, and I have done this for 15 years, and you know, it's it's been an amazing run, but it's time to move on and have new adventures and try something different in life. I'm so sad to have to do it, and it seems like the whole entire community is sad at the same time with me. It's just it's actually very, very bittersweet," Deming explained.
Since announcing the closure, Deming said the line has been the out door with regulars of more than a decade and newcomers eager to show their love and say their goodbyes.
"I moved here two years ago from Virginia. I fell absolutely in love with this place. The family, the community. I made some of my best friends here. It’s a great place. It really is," Alyson Klein said.
“You threw my son under the bus. You didn't take care of him.”
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