GROWTH: HOSPITALITY
In the early 1950s, Orlando was still a rural town with lots of farms and very little city life. “Mom and-Pop” restaurants started cropping up as small retail businesses opened. Jewish culture and entrepreneurism were a shot in the arm to Orlando. From small drive-in diners to large chain restaurants, the cuisine landscape began to change. As Disney built its theme park, hoteliers saw the need for lodging and the tourist industry exploded. Finally, the concept of time-shares brought new revenue to the Orlando economy.
Ronnie’s Restaurant sign is an icon of its time, 1956–1995.
Owner Larry Leckart and his wife Hap opened this popular delicatessen restaurant on the corner of Primrose Avenue and East Colonial Drive in May 1956. They chose the name because it was easy to remember. Its rigid rules (no food sharing, only two pats of butter) and rude service didn’t deter patrons, who would line up outside in two lines: three or less on the left—four or more on the right—and woe to those who were in the wrong line! Ronnie’s closed in February 1995 and the building was demolished. More than 900 artifacts were auctioned off, and the signs were given to area museums.
Roz Ettinger Fuchs
Ronnie’s owner Larry Leckart as commander from “his”
table, c. 1960.
Leckart was the first president of the Florida Restaurant Association and was a celebrity of sorts. Always at the restaurant, he could often be seen sitting at “his” table where he would schmooze with local celebrities and politicians, including Orange County Commissioner Bill Donegan, Tom Slade chairman of the Florida Republican Party and Orange County Chairman Linda Chapin. He and Hap were married 57 years and had two daughters, Stacey Abercrombie of Winter Park and Janice Leckart- Smith of Orlando. They were members of Temple Israel.
Lauren Brown
Ronnie’s menu—an Orlando keepsake, 1956.
Ronnie’s menu offered everything from breakfast to seafood and steaks to down-home stuffed cabbage. Desserts were outrageous, like The Extravaganza—a foot and a half of different ice cream flavors, covered with nuts and fruits, topped with swirls of whipped cream and a cherry on top. Spoons were passed around and everyone dived in. After 35 years, Ronnie’s had served more than 21,432,545 people; 334,117 gallons of pickles; 1,987,675 matzah balls; 227,314 gallons of sauerkraut; 4,124,545 corned beef sandwiches; and 353,750 cheese cakes.
Roz Ettinger Fuchs
Kappy’s remains a landmark diner in Maitland, 1974.
Nestled on Sybelia Avenue at 17-92 in Maitland, is this 1960s-style food stand that specializes in Philly cheese steaks, burgers, New York hot dogs, subs, and the best root beer floats in town. Itch and Ann Kaplan from North Carolina opened Kappy’s in 1967. They sold the diner to Bob Caplan in 1974, who moved to Maitland in 1973 from Atlantic City, NJ, where he’d worked at his family’s successful sub shop. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” is Caplan’s motto, and it’s held true for more than 40 years. Caplan’s daughter Rachel Milsom now owns and runs Kappy’s.
Bob Caplan
Harris Rosen in front of one of his seven hotels, 1996.
Rosen began his hotel career as a file clerk at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. Moving to Orlando in 1970 as director of hotel planning for the Walt Disney Company, Rosen later fulfilled his dream of owning hotels. In 1974, Rosen purchased his first hotel in Orlando for a down payment of $20,000—all his savings. He took a risk when he hitchhiked to New York to meet with top motor-coach companies who might use his hotel for bus tours. Today, Rosen owns and operates Rosen Hotels & Resorts with more than 6,300 rooms.
Heritage Florida Jewish News
Henri Landwirth, (third from left), flanked by L-R: John Glenn, Michael Meeks and Art Buchwald, holding plans for Holiday Inn Kids Village, 1986.
A Holocaust survivor, Landwirth worked his way to America on a freight ship arriving with $20 in his pocket and speaking little English. He was drafted by the Army and then used his GI benefits to learn hotel management. He had a successful career in the hotel industry that spanned 50 years, first moving to Central Florida in 1954 to become general manager of the Starlight Motel in Cocoa Beach. Eventually, Landwirth owned several hotels in Orlando, one of which was the Holiday Inn Maingate East where he developed the plans for a Give Kids the World Village in Kissimmee, FL. This program has provided Central Florida vacation experiences to more than 151,000 children with life-threatening illnesses and their families.
Give Kids the World
David Siegel, founder, president and CEO of Westgate Resorts, Ltd, a Florida-based time-share resort firm, 2015.
Chicago native David Siegel moved from Miami to Orlando in 1970. In 1982, he founded Westgate Resorts, Ltd. He is now CEO of CFI Resorts Management, Inc., and Central Florida Investments, Inc. Siegel was also the owner of the former Orlando Predators and currently owns the Cocoa Beach Pier. He and his wife Jackie were the subjects of the 2012 documentary film The Queen of Versailles. In 2015, he raised his company’s minimum wage to $10 per hour, and in 2016, The Westgate Resorts Foundation donated a total of $1 million to local nonprofits assisting the homeless, domestic violence victims, veterans and children.
Westgate Resorts Ltd.
Mystery Fun House brochure, 1976.
Mystery Fun House was a unique tourist attraction located near International Drive on Major Boulevard, just across from Universal Orlando Resort. Owned and designed by David A. Siegel, CEO of CFI Resorts Management, Inc., it opened on March 28, 1976. The attraction included a laser-tag facility, an arcade, a dinosaur-themed mini golf course, magic shop and The Chambers, which housed a mirror maze, rolling barrel, crawlthrough tunnels, moving bridge and a crooked room. Two movies were filmed here: the birthday scene of Parenthood and Night Terror. The attraction closed February 18, 2001, and now houses the Westgate Resorts check-in center.
Roz Ettinger Fuchs
Bob Yarmuth with Sonny’s BBQ’s new logo, 2015.
Floyd “Sonny” Tillman originally founded the southernstyle, slowcooked barbeque restaurant chain, Sonny’s Real Pit Bar-B-Q, in Gainesville, FL, in 1968. Yarmuth made Orlando his home in 1982. He and his cousin Jeff Yarmuth bought the company in 1991. The Sonny’s Franchise Company, of which Bob is CEO, now has 129 restaurants across nine southeastern states and more than 7,000 employees. In 2013, Sonny’s announced a new branding initiative that included a new name, new uniforms, new logo and a new prototype. The brand “refresh” is a return to Sonny’s roots, with a tagline that reads, “Local Pitmasters Since ‘68.”
Bob and Judy Yarmuth
Business partners Jeff Adler and Rip Gellein sell time successfully, June 1998.A time-sharedeal that fizzled in California kept Jeff and Rita Adler in Orlando. Here, he and business partners Art Zimand and Rip Gellein were the first trailblazers in legitimizing the timeshare business. In 1995, they bought Vistana, the first time-share company in the market and sold it to Starwood Hotels in 1999. “I loved going to work every day,” said Adler. “How can you not love it when you are selling happy vacations in memorable places.” In Cleveland, Adler was expected to go into his father’s scrap-metal business. Instead, he created a path for himself.
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