The owner of a popular chain restaurant in The Villages has decided to close one of his three locations.
Allen Musikantow, owner/operator of the Cody’s Original Roadhouse eateries in Florida’s Friendliest Hometown, said Tuesday that he decided to permanently close the Mulberry Grove location, which wasn’t as successful as its sister restaurants in Lake Sumter Landing and Brownwood. He said the issue was compounded by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and in the end, he really didn’t have a choice but to close the eatery that opened at the end of 2017.
“I thought long and hard about it,” Musikantow said Tuesday afternoon. “It was a difficult decision but the right thing to do.”
Musikantow said he decided to put his efforts into the other two locations, including some major renovations that went on after the restaurants were forced to close in March because of the pandemic. He said those locations are popular with Villagers and other area guests and he’s confident those wishing to dine at Cody’s will make the trip to either one.
The two remaining Cody’s reopened July 1 after undergoing multiple improvements and deep cleanings from top to bottom, from the dining rooms to the kitchen areas. Many different protective measures were put into place, from heavy sanitizing of everything in the restaurants to Plexiglass-type barriers between the booths to replacing cloth seatbacks in those booths with vinyl that easily could be sanitized throughout the day and night.
Hand sanitizer also is available throughout the restaurants and every customer receives a sealed sanitizing wipe after they are seated. Front-of-the-house employees and vendors are required to wear masks at all times, while those working in the kitchen wear protective gloves.
In addition, all employees and vendors have their temperatures taken when they come into the buildings. And all employees are required to fill out a short questionnaire on the computer system before they can begin working.
A couple of days before the reopening, Musikantow said a great deal of thought had gone into the safety procedures that were put into place and he felt quite confident his staff was ready to go.
“I’m not a doctor; I’m a restauranteur,” he said. “So we’ve looked at what people have done and tried to take everything that we can execute. I think we’ve got the most complete package of safety and I think we and The Villages will be fine.”
