A pair of successful restaurateurs will be taking over a location in The Villages.
Phillippe Villian and Kevin O’Donnell, owners of of Big Fin Seafood Kitchen in Orlando and Russell’s on Lake Ivanhoe, will be taking over the location of Cody’s Original Roadhouse at Mulberry Grove in The Villages.
They will open a restaurant called The Back Porch. The anticipate opening the restaurant in the fall.
The Cody’s restaurant at Mulberry Grove closed last year during the COVID-19 pandemic and never reopened. Allen Musikantow, owner/operator of the Cody’s Original Roadhouse eateries in Florida’s Friendliest Hometown, said the Lake Sumter Landing and Brownwood restaurants have bounced back stronger than ever, particularly now that so many people have been vaccinated.
It was previously reported that Ford’s Garage would be going in at the former Cody’s restaurant. However, a Ford’s Garage representative said the restaurant chain would not be taking over that location, though Ford’s Garage remains highly interested in coming to The Villages.
