Fresh off the heels of its success in downtown Leesburg that the owner credits to Villagers and local residents, Papa Pineapples, a Hawaiian-themed taco restaurant, will open a second, new location in Ocala.
The new restaurant, which is owned by veteran Scott Snyder, will take over for Cup O’ The Irish in a location along CR 464/Maricamp Road that was put up for sale earlier this month.
After experiencing early success with the opening of the Leesburg restaurant, which took place in the first week of September, the restaurant has seen an influx of support from residents throughout Leesburg, Lady Lake and The Villages.
“We’ve had tremendous support from The Villages and a lot of groups have come in to try our food. We didn’t intend to expand so quickly, but Villagers definitely helped make this possible,” said Snyder, of the positive impact from residents of Florida’s Friendliest Hometown.
Between the truck and brick and mortar, he estimates that his business has served over 10,000 customers since opening just over two months ago.
As the business has done in Leesburg, Snyder, whose wife works for Marion County Public Schools, hopes to hire local students and give back to some of the local schools in Ocala.
