Lorito's Italian Kitchen (Closed)
Ocala, FL Photo courtesy Steve/Back on Tack
You will never whine about not being able to find Lorito's Italian Kitchen on
US 40 in Ocala, FL. The Italian eatery has about a 14-foot light up bottle
to grab drivers attention. It is outlined in neon complete with a flaming
candle stuck in its neck. At the base three animated red, neon arrows
point the way to the front door. Many thanks to Steve/Back on Tack for info.
Lorito’s opened in 1970 and spent more than fifty years serving Italian food along Silver Springs Boulevard. The basket-wrapped bottle became a landmark in its own right, advertising pizza and pasta with a little dinner-table imagery enlarged to highway scale. It was exactly the sort of sign worth remembering even after the meal was finished.
UPDATE: Lorito’s closed in 2023, but Franco’s Italian Restaurant opened in the building in August 2024. After discussions with the city over its roadside placement, the bottle sign was permitted to remain and was refurbished for the new business. Good to see this distinctive Ocala landmark get another serving of Italian restaurant duty. 07-26
Petite Jardin (Gone)
Ocala, FL Photo courtesy Steve/Back on Tack
When translated, the name Petite Jardin means little garden. And
while it is true, the atmosphere is tiny and elegant (only six tables)
- the Ocala, FL restaurant is big on taste. It is at the top of the list
for those in the area who enjoy fine dining. John Bell is the owner and
Executive Chef of the restaurant. He runs it along side his wife Kelly.
In the past, John has cooked for President Bush, Margaret Thatcher, and
Mike Douglas. Many thanks to Steve/Back on Tack for info.
Chef John Bell and his wife, Kelly, operated the restaurant with only a handful of tables. The small dining room made the food and personal attention central to the experience. It became the kind of place customers remembered for celebrations and carefully prepared dinners rather than a quick roadside stop.
UPDATE: Bell closed the restaurant in summer 2003. The original sign is reportedly gone, and later businesses have occupied the property. Although its dining days have ended, Petite Jardin remains a reminder that some of Ocala’s most distinctive restaurants worked on a very small scale. 07-26
Ranch House Restaurant (Demolished)
Avon Park, FL Photo courtesy Dirk Burhans
The smiling chef outside Ranch House Restaurant gave hungry motorists in Avon Park a friendly roadside welcome. Perched on the marquee along U.S. 27, he looked ready to recommend something substantial from the kitchen. Cartoon characters like this could give even a straightforward restaurant sign a personality all its own.
The restaurant belonged to an era when Florida’s highways were lined with independent dining rooms and regional chains catering to families and travelers. Its Ranch House name and cheerful chef fit comfortably into that landscape. For roadside fans, the sign was enough to make an ordinary meal stop worth a photograph.
UPDATE: The Avon Park restaurant was reportedly demolished around 1997, with a CVS pharmacy replacing it. The chef marquee disappeared as well, although its fate after removal is unknown. Photographs preserve another piece of the friendly, oversized advertising that once helped define a drive along U.S. 27. 07-26
Pine Grove Family Restaurant (Demolished)
Tampa, FL Photo courtesy Steve/Back on Tack
The enormous orange arrow outside Pine Grove Family Restaurant made this Tampa stop easy to find along North Florida Avenue. Its cheerful colors bring to mind the old Howard Johnson’s palette, although this restaurant had a different pedigree. Look closely at the other view and there’s even a snowman nearby—a rather optimistic character for the Florida heat.
The building opened in 1963 as a Frisch’s Big Boy, complete with an angular roof, large windows, counter seating, and comfortable booths. By 1993, it had become Pine Grove Family Restaurant. Breakfasts and familiar comfort food gave neighborhood customers reasons to return beneath the distinctive roadside sign.
Pine Grove Family Restaurant (Demolished)
Tampa, FL Photo courtesy Steve/Back on Tack
Pine Grove later helped keep another Tampa restaurant tradition alive. In 2007, owner Greg Alexopoulos arranged to serve the celebrated Goody Goody P.O.X. burger using its signature sauce. After the original Goody Goody had disappeared, customers could once again enjoy a familiar combination of pickles, onions, and that closely guarded topping.
UPDATE: Pine Grove closed around 2009, followed by Forest Hills Diner, which operated at the property until 2013. Redevelopment for an automobile dealership began in 2014, removing the old restaurant. The sign structure reportedly survived with replacement faces, although its current condition could not be independently confirmed. 07-26
Kristine's (Gone)
Lake Worth, FL Photo courtesy Kevin O'Sullivan
The rounded corners and lighthouse-like tower made Kristine’s Restaurant an eye-catching stop along Dixie Highway in Lake Worth. Its streamlined design gave the building a little maritime personality, even without a waterfront setting. This is the sort of roadside architecture that makes you want to circle back for another look.
Dating to the late 1940s, the building housed Kristine’s for decades before becoming associated with later restaurants, including Blue Front. The distinctive tower helped it retain an identity through those changes. A vintage postcard advertising dinners, short orders, and a cocktail lounge recalls its earlier career serving highway travelers and local diners.
UPDATE: Kristine’s is gone, but the landmark building survives. Plans announced in 2026 called for another restaurant chapter as RuRu’s Tacos & Tequila, replacing the former Blue Front operation. The opening status could not be confirmed, but the familiar tower remains an important part of this Dixie Highway survivor. 07-26
South Bar-B-Q (Demolished)
Clewiston, FL Photo courtesy Dirk Burhans
The Old South Bar-B-Q Ranch in Clewiston offered considerably more to look at than a menu. Cowboy figures, wooden cutouts, and assorted roadside characters greeted travelers outside, making the place look like an attraction that happened to serve dinner. It was hard to pass without wondering what else might be waiting inside.
Opened in 1956, the ranch knew how to build anticipation. Small signs spaced along U.S. 27 delivered folksy jokes a little at a time, ending with the restaurant’s name. The approach borrowed from the famous Burma-Shave advertising campaigns, turning a long drive into a guessing game about the next punch line.
South Bar-B-Q (Demolished)
Clewiston, FL Photo courtesy Dirk Burhans
Once travelers arrived, the country-themed surroundings gave them more reasons to linger. Old wagons, farm implements, a player piano, and assorted memorabilia filled out the experience. Whether visitors remembered the barbecue or the characters out front most clearly, the ranch made an ordinary highway meal stop feel like part of the vacation.
UPDATE: The Old South Bar-B-Q Ranch closed in 1999, and its buildings were later demolished. The roadside characters and sequence of advertising signs have disappeared as well. Photographs and souvenirs preserve a Florida highway stop that understood the value of entertaining customers before they ever reached the dining room. 07-26
Lorito's Italian Kitchen (Closed)
Petite Jardin (Gone)
Pine Grove Family Restaurant (Demolished)
Pine Grove Family Restaurant (Demolished)
Kristine's (Gone)
South Bar-B-Q (Demolished)
South Bar-B-Q (Demolished)
