FL Mom-And-Pop Breakfast Eatery, Poached, Is Closing Its Doors Due To "Unrealistic Conditions"

Photo byJanine from Mililani, Hawaii, United States, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Lately, it is not rare for longtime Florida restaurants to suddenly have an issue when it is time to renew their leases. I've recently written about restaurants like Duffy's in Weston and Ta-boo in Palm Beach shuttering due to lease issues. And now - another eatery - Poached - is closing its Naples doors and alleges "unrealistic" leasing requirements.

About Poached: This eatery has been in business in Naple's Galleria Shoppes at Vanderbilt for the past 13 years. Poached only serves breakfast and lunch so they close at 2:30 pm.

Patrons rave about the quality and quantity of the food on Google reviews. A reviewer named Carey writes, in part:

"This was a great brunch experience. Our waiter was amazing, and both food and drink were perfectly done. This is one of the best brunch spots..."

What Led to The Closure?: Poached is run by a husband and wife team who wished to renew their lease for another five years and reached out to their management company to inquire about doing so.

Eventually, the management company allegedly told Poached that it would need to remove some outdoor chairs and agree to stay open until 7 pm. before lease negotiations could begin.

The later hours are reportedly a great hardship to Poached as they would need to hire and train a nighttime crew, create a dinner menu, and buy more inventory.

Co-owner Brandi Lostracco told Gulfshore Business:

“They were trying to force us to stay open for dinner knowing that we can’t do that to be successful. So, that’s their way of pushing us out of the plaza entirely. It was a shock to us.”

The couple tried to find a buyer for the property, but the transfer of the lease was not approved.

Ultimately, the restaurant has hung a sign on the door which says, in part:

"...Due to unrealistic expectations imposed on us by the Shoppes at Vanderbilt, we are being forced out. In the 13 years we have operated as a breakfast and lunch restaurant, we have never been late and (have) always been in compliance with the rules. Despite this...we have been informed that this month will be our last. All of us at Poached are shocked and saddened by this."

The restaurant's last day will be May 28, 2024. As of now, the plan is to sell the contents of the restaurant with the hopes of starting over somewhere in the future.