[NachoMama]

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC

They could always move to a larger location.

Than the one they just built?

[NachoMama]

Originally Posted by mlmarr

FMK restaurant's/SS looking at food delivery .. there is a deal working..

How is it you are privy to the conversations between them?

[tophcfa]

We stopped missing WOB several years ago. It opened right about when we closed on our villages home in 2015 and we very much enjoyed it the first three or so years. They used to have excellent service, decent food, and an exceptional inventory of beer. The first couple of years, they would bring you a tablet that easily allowed you to search through their extensive beer selection using multiple filters to help focus in on specific beers based on specified criteria. Over time, the place went on a slippery downhill slope until it wasn’t even on our list of places to consider going to. I can’t say I’m surprised at all to learn of the closing. Spanish Springs is definitely in a transition, the two new FMK restaurants and Blondies are definitely positive, while the vacated Margarita Republic and WOB establishments are both large empty prime location buildings. It will be interesting to see what eventually fills these empty locations?

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by tophcfa

We stopped missing WOB several years ago. It opened right about when we closed on our villages home in 2015 and we very much enjoyed it the first three or so years. They used to have excellent service, decent food, and an exceptional inventory of beer. The first couple of years, they would bring you a tablet that easily allowed you to search through their extensive beer selection using multiple filters to help focus in on specific beers based on specified criteria. Over time, the place went on a slippery downhill slope until it wasn’t even on our list of places to consider going to. I can’t say I’m surprised at all to learn of the closing. Spanish Springs is definitely in a transition, the two new FMK restaurants and Blondies are definitely positive, while the vacated Margarita Republic and WOB establishments are both large empty prime location buildings. It will be interesting to see what eventually fills these empty locations?

The two FMK restaurants are definitely great additions, but they're also both very expensive. Remember this is the OLDER part of The Villages, and the entire other side of the road there is still primarily manufactured homes. That means more people on a budget. Coastal del Mar and the new Italian place are treats for us, but not anything we could do even once a month.

Margaritaville's property is being worked on inside, so I'm guessing something is already planned to go in there and in progress.

Blondies is just one of the Developers tiki huts with an actual bar and tables outside, it's not a restaurant at all, of any kind. If anything, you could consider it additional seating for the FMK restaurants since you can pay Ubereats a fee to bring the food from those two places across the street to your table (which seems really silly, why not save the delivery fee and just order your meal "to go," have one member of your party leave the table, walk across the street, and pick up the bag themselves).

Sumter has Panera, Starbucks, and Johnny Rockets for "inexpensive meal" options. Now, Spanish Springs has Panera. Amerikano's interior is like dining in a tomb, and outside is only good if you enjoy incredibly loud karaoke-style music. Gator's Dockside has some of the absolute worst service I've experienced in any restaurant, though their steak and cheese subs are pretty good - when you can get someone to take your order, someone else to make one for you, and someone else to bring it to you from their kitchen.

Spanish Springs really needs a mid-range restaurant other than Gator's. Without any competition, Gator's corners the market and their service can go downhill even more, and the food can even suffer, and people will still go since it's the only place in the area in that budget option.

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by NachoMama

Than the one they just built?

If they decide they want to offer food they made themselves what choice do they have but to move to larger quarters

[tophcfa]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

The two FMK restaurants are definitely great additions, but they're also both very expensive. Remember this is the OLDER part of The Villages, and the entire other side of the road there is still primarily manufactured homes. That means more people on a budget. Coastal del Mar and the new Italian place are treats for us, but not anything we could do even once a month.

Margaritaville's property is being worked on inside, so I'm guessing something is already planned to go in there and in progress.

Blondies is just one of the Developers tiki huts with an actual bar and tables outside, it's not a restaurant at all, of any kind. If anything, you could consider it additional seating for the FMK restaurants since you can pay Ubereats a fee to bring the food from those two places across the street to your table (which seems really silly, why not save the delivery fee and just order your meal "to go," have one member of your party leave the table, walk across the street, and pick up the bag themselves).

Sumter has Panera, Starbucks, and Johnny Rockets for "inexpensive meal" options. Now, Spanish Springs has Panera. Amerikano's interior is like dining in a tomb, and outside is only good if you enjoy incredibly loud karaoke-style music. Gator's Dockside has some of the absolute worst service I've experienced in any restaurant, though their steak and cheese subs are pretty good - when you can get someone to take your order, someone else to make one for you, and someone else to bring it to you from their kitchen.

Spanish Springs really needs a mid-range restaurant other than Gator's. Without any competition, Gator's corners the market and their service can go downhill even more, and the food can even suffer, and people will still go since it's the only place in the area in that budget option.

Mostly agree. Although the Italian FMK place is no doubt good, if we’re going to drop the coin on a FMK joint it’s going to be the seafood place. Blondies does nothing for us and Costal Del Mar is a rare occasion treat. Gators dockside is lousy pub food with poor service. Americanos has decent food, but poor dinning atmosphere and way too much smoking sitting outside. Only get takeout from there. But SS also has Ay Jalisco, you can take the golf cart to the drive up at Chick-fill-A and get relatively healthy food (grilled nuggets and market salad), and Sakura has excellent takeout sushi. Lake Sumter also has RJ Gators, which isn’t anything special, but has delicious blackened fish with rice and beans and it’s nice sitting outside looking across the lake from Palmer. We wouldn’t eat at Johnny Rockets if the food was free, total garbage, and I didn’t even realize Starbucks had food (thought it was just overpriced Pacific Northwest designer coffee).

[fdpaq0580]

Originally Posted by ChicagoNative

“… making us wait FOREVER to take our order, waiting a whole lot longer to serve our drinks even when it wasn't busy, never checking back to see how we're enjoying our meal.”

After experiencing this exact same treatment at the Brownwood location each time we went, we stopped going. Never went to the Spanish Springs location.

Hope you weren't tipping! 🤨😡🤧

[VictoriaGrace]

Agree on all counts. The staff was friendly and ‘laid back’ and 1/2 hr is way tonfar to drive for taco Tuesday. Not to mention, the service is far worse at the Brownwood location.

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

...has closed.

The one in Brownwood will be the only one in The Villages.

Very disappointed. Although the service was sometimes sub-par - making us wait FOREVER to take our order, waiting a whole lot longer to serve our drinks even when it wasn't busy, never checking back to see how we're enjoying our meal... the food itself was good, consistently. And it was less than 5 minutes from home. Plus we had rewards, so we got freebies once in awhile.

Not gonna drive 45 minutes out of my way just for WoB.

[dewilson58]

Originally Posted by Mrfriendly

😲😩😩😩
Oh no!! Love Friday night karaoke! Now what?!

Maybe one night at a town square they will do karaoke nite.

Might be quite entertaining.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by tophcfa

Mostly agree. Although the Italian FMK place is no doubt good, if we’re going to drop the coin on a FMK joint it’s going to be the seafood place. Blondies does nothing for us and Costal Del Mar is a rare occasion treat. Gators dockside is lousy pub food with poor service. Americanos has decent food, but poor dinning atmosphere and way too much smoking sitting outside. Only get takeout from there. But SS also has Ay Jalisco, you can take the golf cart to the drive up at Chick-fill-A and get relatively healthy food (grilled nuggets and market salad), and Sakura has excellent takeout sushi. Lake Sumter also has RJ Gators, which isn’t anything special, but has delicious blackened fish with rice and beans and it’s nice sitting outside looking across the lake from Palmer. We wouldn’t eat at Johnny Rockets if the food was free, total garbage, and I didn’t even realize Starbucks had food (thought it was just overpriced Pacific Northwest designer coffee).

True about Ay Jalisco, but that's Western Mexican - not a typical burgers and beer kinda place. Amerikanos food did not impress me the two times I went. Their falafels were raw inside. Also, they have hummus, but they don't have tahini. That tells me their hummus is pre-packaged, not made on site (since you have to have tahini in order to make hummus).

As for Johnny Rockets, a few times a year I'll get a chili cheese dog from them. Hubby likes their milk-shakes.

[CybrSage]

Originally Posted by MrChip72

Drive behind the Brownwood Hotel and Health Care Center, and through the West parking lot towards 44 (Leland Ln on Google Maps), drive on sidewalk area for about 15 seconds and follow the golf cart tracks to get into the plaza.

You can drive a golf cart anywhere you desire if you are willing to break the law to do it. A great many people do not wish to break the law like you do. And yes, it is illegal to drive a golf cart on a sidewalk (edit: unless that sidewalk is officially designated as a golf cart path or multi modal path, according to section 316.212 of Florida Statutes).

Besides, parking in the Health Care Center lot is only a few dozen feet away. A short walk to not break the law is no big deal.

[Bill14564]

Just went to the WoB in Brownwood - we will be back. Good beer selection, good food, and good service. Could be a single good night but seems to be back to the experience we remember from before COVID.

[MrChip72]

Originally Posted by CybrSage

You can drive a golf cart anywhere you desire if you are willing to break the law to do it. A great many people do not wish to break the law like you do. And yes, it is illegal to drive a golf cart on a sidewalk (edit: unless that sidewalk is officially designated as a golf cart path or multi modal path, according to section 316.212 of Florida Statutes).

Besides, parking in the Health Care Center lot is only a few dozen feet away. A short walk to not break the law is no big deal.

The statute:

Upon its determination that golf carts may be operated on a given road, the department shall post appropriate signs on the road to indicate that such operation is allowed.


Are you serious? I've never seen a single sign in TV that said golf carts are allowed. I guess that golf carts in all of TV are illegal then but they just never told us.

No law is being broken driving to Freedom Plaza in a golf cart. I never said drive on the sidewalk. You can get there driving from one private property to another and crossing one unopened local road, which is entirely legal.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by MrChip72

Drive behind the Brownwood Hotel and Health Care Center, and through the West parking lot towards 44 (Leland Ln on Google Maps), drive on sidewalk area for about 15 seconds and follow the golf cart tracks to get into the plaza.

The Sunny Pint staff that I've talked to have said that the Wildwood Police are aware that many people do this and don't have an issue with it. I don't believe there's any laws being broken if you're following the route that I describe above.

Originally Posted by MrChip72

The statute:

Upon its determination that golf carts may be operated on a given road, the department shall post appropriate signs on the road to indicate that such operation is allowed.


Are you serious? I've never seen a single sign in TV that said golf carts are allowed. I guess that golf carts in all of TV are illegal then but they just never told us.

No law is being broken driving to Freedom Plaza in a golf cart. I never said drive on the sidewalk. You can get there driving from one private property to another and crossing one unopened local road, which is entirely legal.

I suppose you may not have said it, but it's pretty clear you wrote it.

As for your concern about the statute, see 316.2125

[MrChip72]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

I suppose you may not have said it, but it's pretty clear you wrote it.

As for your concern about the statute, see 316.2125

Please point to what part of that statute applies here.