Sunday, October 11, 2009

MARATHON -- Two eateries in Marathon that have closed in the past several months are set to be taken over by restaurateurs from the north and south.

The biggest change is expected to take place at what was the Village Cafe. The longtime local eatery that served Italian and American food at the Gulfside Village shopping center shut its doors a couple of weeks ago. In its place will be a decidedly different fare, in the form of a Cuban restaurant.

The de la Cruz family, which owns the El Siboney Restaurant in Key West, will be expanding their business to the Middle Keys and expect to try and retain the same model that has kept them in business in the Keys' main city.

"It will be pretty much the same operation," said Julio de la Cruz. El Siboney offers Cuban food in addition to seafood dishes.

He said that the expansion made sense, because the current restaurant receives a lot of businesses from the Middle Keys. According to de la Cruz, the current plans call for the restaurant to open sometime in November.

"A lot of customers we get here are from Marathon," de la Cruz said. "We surveyed a lot of people. ... A lot of people are excited."

The de la Cruz family has owned El Siboney since 2004. The restaurant has been open since 1984.

From the north comes the Lazy Days Restaurant, which is expected to take over the space that was previously occupied by Frosty's Restaurant and Sunset Tiki Bar.

That space has seen several different eateries occupy it over the years. Before Frosty's, the restaurant was owned and operated by former mega-developers Cay Clubs as Cabot's on the Water. Prior to that it was the popular locals hangout Shucker's Raw Bar Grill.

Representatives from Lazy Days say they, too, will try and bring the same experience from their Islamorada restaurant to the new Marathon venue. Lazy Days offers seafood, pastas, sandwiches, steaks and chicken as part of its main menu. A firm opening date for that eatery has not been set as representatives from Lazy Days said they are still working out some details.

Marathon has seen its share of restaurant activity in the past two years. Paramount has been the opening of Chappy's Steak and Seafood, which opened earlier this year to much fanfare. Another Cuban restaurant, Don Pedro, was taken over and replaced by Cuban eatery Tainos.

rbusweiler@keysnews.com