Remembering Old Florida Treasures: Ronnie’s Restaurant, Orlando

Last Updated on November 1, 2023

Ronnie’s Restaurant in Orlando! Boy, do we love to reminisce about restaurants and old treasures of Florida’s past.

One of our favorites is Ronnie’s Restaurant, a Jewish Delicatessen & Bake Shop in Orlando, that was located on Colonial Drive between Primrose and Bumby.

Unfortunately, Ronnie’s closed in 1995 after 39 years of serving the community. Decades later, we still remember their delicious food, rigid rules, and decor.

Ronnie’s Restaurant Beginnings

In 1956, Larry Leckart and his wife opened the doors of Ronnie’s Restaurant on the corner of Primrose Avenue and East Colonial Drive, endearing called “Main Street Orlando”. Why was the restaurant named Ronnie’s, you may be wondering? Simply because the name “Ronnie’s” was easy to say and to remember.

Ronnie’s transformed the Orlando dining scene and also helped educate the general public about the food of a traditional Jewish deli. Many Central Floridians had never had foods like lox, Reubens, or halibut steak. Overall, this made the restaurant a staple of the Orlando area catering to many different groups of people – local celebrities, politicians, and the working class.

Not only did Ronnie’s offer traditional deli fare, their menu included practically everything. This was a spot where you could get huge portions of breakfast, seafood, a steak, a delicious hot pastrami sandwich, or even a stuffed cabbage.

Not only did Ronnie’s offer traditional deli fare, their menu included practically everything. This was a spot where you could get huge portions of breakfast, seafood, a steak, a delicious hot pastrami sandwich, or even a stuffed cabbage.

The Endearing and Tough Atmosphere of Ronnie’s

Ronnie’s was most known for its rigid rules that typically would offend customers. However, it didn’t deter any of their loyal following who instead celebrated it.

Endeared by the public, patrons often said it was like being served by your mother.

There was no food sharing, no splitting of checks, and additionally, only two pats of butter were allowed per customer.

Since Ronnie’s was always busy, most days, there were lines out the door.

These two lines were strictly contained to three or fewer people in the left line, four or more on the right, and woe to those who went in the wrong door!

The End of an Orlando Icon

Ronnie’s unfortunately closed without warning on February 15th, 1995 a day that lives in infamy in Orlando.

Confused patrons were turned away while the employees taped hand-written closed signs on the doors. The area of Colonial, where Ronnie’s was located, had been bought in order to build an open-air mall.

Unfortunately for the Leckart’s, they knew it was time to go. Larry Leckart wanted to retire and play golf.

The new company demolished the building to make way for the new mall. The Leckart family auctioned off artifacts and gave the rest to local museums.

At the time of closing, Ronnie’s had served more than:

• 21 million people
• 334,000 gallons of pickles
• Approximately 2 million matzah balls
• 227,000 gallons of sauerkraut
• 4 million corned beef sandwiches
• 353,000 cheesecakes

The people of Orlando miss Ronnie’s so much, they have a Facebook group dedicated to sharing memories. Check out I Miss Ronnie’s Restaurant in Orlando.

Do you have a favorite Florida icon that is no longer with us? Let us know on social media using the #AuthenticFlorida.