By Kyle Coppola
Papa’s Diner In Clermont To Colse After 40 Years Of Business
Clermont, FL — After nearly four decades of serving the Clermont community, Papa’s Diner will close its doors for good on Sunday, November 17th, 2024. The beloved local institution, known for its welcoming atmosphere and home-style cooking, announced its closure due to an inability to reach an agreement with the landlord on much-needed renovations.
“We regret to inform everyone that we will be closing permanently on Sunday, November 17th,” said owner Brittany Lopez in a heartfelt statement. “Unfortunately, after a year of very hard effort, we were unable to agree on renovations desperately needed with the landlord.”
(The restaurant will remain open the next month and a half but the final day will be November, 17th.)
Lopez, expressed deep gratitude to the community for their support over the years. “We have been blessed to serve the community for almost 40 years. We had high hopes to be around for many more years, but as we know, all good things come to an end.”
The closure comes as a shock to both customers and staff. Lopez shared the emotional toll the decision has taken on her, saying, “This has been the hardest decision to come to. This is not how we saw this ending, and believe when I say, I am in tears just writing this. Please know we tried every avenue to come to terms with our landlord, and in the end, we lost.”
(The home cooked meals were great but the staff and people will truly be missed.)
Lopez and her team wanted to give the community enough time to say goodbye. “We wanted to give everyone a chance to visit and say their last goodbyes. We hope to see all of you within these next few weeks and hope to be remembered as a diner that tried its hardest until the very last day.”
Papa’s Diner has been a fixture in Clermont for 40 years, known not just for its food but for the warmth and laughter shared within its walls. The closing of the diner marks the end of an era for the community.
The final day of operation will be Sunday, November 17th, 2024.
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
