The same old name may still be on the outside, but new owners are operating a restaurant at Spanish Springs Town Square in The Villages.
Demshar’s name is still featured prominently at the restaurant across from town square, but the eatery has a new name, Augustine’s 1812 House. The operator of the popular Lighthouse Point Bar & Grille at Lake Sumter Landing has taken over the spot in Spanish Springs that has changed hands many times over the years.
The interior of the former Demshar’s restaurant has been renovated. The new restaurant opens at 4 p.m. daily. Italian fare is on the menu. A low-key ribbon-cutting ceremony – with masks – was held last week.
Demshar’s locked its doors in September, the same day Toojay’s Deli closed for good at Spanish Springs Town Square. The owner of Demshar’s left a sign on the door blaming its shutdown on the lack of foot traffic thanks to the Coronavirus cessation of music at town square and the dimmed lights at The Sharon L. Morse Performing Arts Center.
Dancing and drinking have returned to the Gazebo at town square and performances are coming back to the stage at The Sharon.
So John and Maureen McIntyre have decided to bring their winning formula to a dining spot that has been through a whirlwind of name changes and operators through the years.
Originally, the restaurant was named Augustine’s and was owned by The Villages. It offered Italian food and a highly popular salad with breadsticks.
The building has housed a variety of failed restaurants, including one that attempted to remain with the theme of Italian food but went away fairly quickly and another that failed with a New-Orleans themed menu. Prior to the opening of Demshar’s, the eatery had been named Luigino’s and shut its doors in October 2015.
Demshar’s struggled to survive but failed to do so even after obtaining between $150,000 to $350,000 in COVID-19 relief – money that was designated as a “forgivable” loan issued through the Small Business Administration. The money was obtained through Citizens First Bank.
The second floor of Augustine’s 1812 House could soon be converted from office space into apartments, if The Villages gets its way.
