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‘Orlando’s Oldest Diner’ may have just permanently closed its doors

College Park Café at 2304 Edgewater Drive was forced to shut down

College Park Cafe on May 4, 2020 in Orlando. (Image: James Gosselin/WKMG) (WKMG 2020)

ORLANDO, Fla. – This week, an Orlando diner open since the 1950s was forced to close its doors, according to state records.

A report by the DBPR shows that the diner — College Park Café along Edgewater Drive — was visited by a health inspector on Tuesday after receiving a complaint.

The inspector wrote that there were over 50 dead cockroaches found on the premises, as well as over a dozen live ones.

As a result, College Park Café was ordered to close up shop until the “violations are corrected.”

However, Bungalower reported that a note was posted on the front door of the business, which read, “OUT OF BUSINESS! Toodles.”

[WATCH: College Park Cafe reopened in January after Christmas Eve fire]

According to the eatery’s website, the diner was established in 1951, making it the oldest in the area.

Per Bungalower, the diner had unveiled a new drag brunch over the weekend as the owner tried to drive up traffic amid a period of financial strain.

News 6 reached out to College Park Café for more information, though the owner declined to provide a statement.

Instead, Bungalower reported that the owner gave the following explanation via social media following the diner’s closure:

“Tuesday morning, we conducted a full wall flush treatment through our pest control provider as part of a proactive pest control plan we implemented due to a recent isolated issue. The treatment occurred prior to opening and, as expected with a building that’s over 70 years old, it stirred up activity behind the walls.

We began cleaning immediately as part of our planned follow-up. During this process, the Department of Health inspector arrived to investigate a complaint, the problem we were working toward resolving. Due to visible pest activity caused by the flush and our active cleanup efforts, we were issued a closure order. While we were given the option to clean and reopen, we made the difficult decision to permanently close instead."


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