by | August 26, 2025
Keeping the Faith at Florida’s Old-School Restaurants
Reminiscing on the Old-Florida restaurants of yesteryear and fighting for the ones that still stand true.
Lately, I’ve been reminiscing on places with vinyl booths under Tiffany-style lamps, hush puppies with fried shrimp and slices of leprechaun-green Key lime pie. Last month, I asked our readers what their favorite Old-Florida restaurants were, and received so many responses that we’re devoting an entire page to their memories in the Fall 2025 Taste Issue, which hits newsstands early September and goes live on flamingomag.com next Tuesday.
The stories reminded me of another spot: the Georgia Pig in Broward County. The Pig has been slinging barbecue since 1953 from a roadside joint with a fluorescent-lit door. Years ago, I met Luke Moorman there for lunch. He heard a rumor back in 2014 that the beloved barbecue staple was for sale, and so he went to the bank for a loan. They gave advice: absolutely do not buy it. The regulars aren’t getting any younger, and the younger generation doesn’t line up for chopped pork and Brunswick stew.
But Moorman went ahead anyway. He kept the place as it was, right down to the quirky weekly specials: meatloaf on Mondays, spaghetti on Wednesdays, franks and beans on Saturdays. To this day, the Georgia Pig is still feeding the faithful.
That lunch made me wonder about the financial sense in running similar places. Taking on an old restaurant with regulars who expect prices to remain the same for the plate they’ve always ordered doesn’t exactly scream growth market. But these places aren’t about investments. They’re about keeping something alive—something that feels a little endangered in a state that loves to tear down and build new.
I don’t know if it’s smart for you or me to go out and buy that roadside restaurant we want to preserve, to try and maintain these stubborn holdouts against the tide of chain restaurants and shiny developments. What I do know is that I’m grateful for them—for the daily specials and the determination to hold on to tradition. Because when you step into a place like that, you’re stepping into more than a restaurant. You’re stepping into a slice of Florida history, ideally topped with a generous amount of Redi-Whip and a quartered Key lime.
Hungry for seconds? Sign up for Key Lime, our monthly culinary newsletter, and never miss a story.
About the Author
Eric has been a journalist in Florida for two decades, including stints at newspapers in Fort Pierce, Stuart and Sarasota. His role at Flamingo includes everything from interviewing chefs to first-line editing on cover stories and penning our monthly culinary newsletter, Key Lime.
