It looks like the Fruitland Park Commission is headed back to the drawing board to figure out who is going to oversee its new library’s café.
Commissioners thought they had a deal in place Thursday night with Vito Serrone, who owns the popular NY Deli, Diner N’ Bakery. They even went so far as to unanimously approve an agreement.
But things quickly unraveled moments later and the meeting turned somewhat contentious when Serrone brought up issues about everything from the name of the café to the placement of signs advertising its location to plans to occasionally park his firetruck that serves as a rolling billboard for his eatery in the library’s parking lot.
Serrone first took issue with the name of the 515-square-foot eatery at the Fruitland Park Library – Gardenia Café – that was included in the lease.
“It’s actually going to be called the New York Deli Café in the Gardenia Room,” he said.
Library Director Jo-Ann Glendinning quickly corrected that statement.
“The name of the establishment is the Gardenia Café,” she said, adding that advertising and promotional material would include a mention of the NY Deli, Diner N’ Bakery. “But it is the Gardenia Café.”
“The only way it’s going to happen is if New York Deli is part of the marketing for the café,” Serrone responded.
The local restaurateur also asked to have a sign advertising the café on County Road 466A but was told that Fruitland Park had no say in such a decision because it’s a county road.
“People don’t even know the library is there right now,” he said.
Mayor Chris Cheshire disagreed.
“That café has been busy from the day it opened,” he said.
Serrone promised that it would be even busier once he took over, while also telling commissioners that it wouldn’t be a “get-rich-thing” for him. He added that he was willing to take on managing the café so that his restaurant could expand and be an even bigger part of the city.
“We’ll make it work. We’ll make it happen,” he said. “We want to make it a nice thing.”
But moments later, Serrone added a final concern that brought the agreement to a screeching halt.
“We all know, obviously, my firetruck will be there on occasion,” he said. “It’s an everyday driver.”
At that point, Commissioner Patrick DeGrave had heard enough and said Serrone’s issues should have been worked out before the agreement was brought before the commission.
“I have an issue with the truck,” DeGrave said. “It’s a billboard. It’s a moving sign but it’s still a billboard.”
DeGrave then made a motion to rescind the approval of the agreement and send it back to city staff to hammer out details, which passed with unanimous approval.
Cheshire clearly was unhappy with the way Serrone had handled the issues after the commission had given its initial approval.
“I was hoping you weren’t going to say anything,” he said. “I was hoping this was going pass. So now it goes back to the drawing board.”
Later in the meeting, with commission and staff members still looking somewhat stunned by the turn of events, it was made clear that the agreement with Serrone most likely was off the table and someone else would be needed to manage the café, which pays homage to the Old Gardenia Hotel that once occupied the library property.
The café had been manned by Kathy Weaver and her Fruitland Park-based company, K&M Creative Catering, since the library first opened in July. But that agreement came to an end this month after the commission voted in November to exercise its 30-day-out clause with Weaver.
At the time of that vote, La Venia said he wanted a vendor to operate the café “in a different way.” He added that he was seeking someone who would offer packaged food items that were prepared off-site and delivered to the eatery each morning for library patrons and those who would stop by for breakfast, lunch or a snack.
