Ravish’s owner says financial struggles forced her to close the restaurant. Photo provided
By Jan Norris
Ravish in Lantana has closed, a move co-owner Alex Dupuis calls “bittersweet.”
Open for three years under her management, the restaurant gained a following for its shareable-plates menu and lively atmosphere. Special events and parties staged at Ravish drew fans.
“We were very lucky here and very grateful to everyone who supported us,” Dupuis said.
But this year the results of some rough times for the restaurant have caught up.
“We ran it as kosher as kosher could be for three years. But Hurricane Helene came through and damaged our walls,” Dupuis said. “They’re corrugated metal. We couldn’t keep the heat out or the cold in. This past summer, and this winter, we lost a lot of revenue. We had to shut down for days.”
Ravish struggled to recover, and asked to renegotiate with the landlord for a longer lease. But the rent would have doubled, Dupuis said.
Talks fell apart. “They wouldn’t do it,” Dupuis said.
Legal matters are involved; she declined to discuss them while they are ongoing.
She pointed to others on Ocean Avenue who have left recently, leaving large spaces open. Rents have jumped on the avenue, she said, forcing nearby small businesses out.
“The Cheese Shoppe and the sunglass shop, Shades of Time, have both left within the last six months,” she said.
Lantana’s town officials have planned for improvements for Ocean Avenue for several years, but businesses have seen little action, Dupuis said.
“I don’t know what happened, but things have stalled.”
Lantana Mayor Karen Lythgoe laments the closure.
“It was one of my favorite places. Everybody loved Ravish. It was my kind of place.”
The restaurant was a key piece to promote proposed development of properties across the street that have been bare or vacant.
“It’s a big loss,” Lythgoe said.
Some development plans were presented to the Town Council before the holidays, Lythgoe said, but for reasons unknown on the property owner’s side, fell through.
“We (the town) don’t plan — it’s the landowners.”
Lythgoe said she has no idea what Ravish’s landlord, Phyllis Small, might have in mind for the block-long building, but said there was much work to be done on the property after storm damage.
“I do know nobody wants to pour money into a property without an extended lease.”
Other restaurants on the avenue that have left include the expanded Oceana Kitchen in 2023, and Mario’s Italian in 2020. Both moved to Lake Worth Beach.
Sushi Bon, another longtime restaurant just west of the bridge, left in 2024 after its lease was up.
Dupuis is focusing on her new restaurant, Pomona, on Lake Avenue in Lake Worth Beach, which opened in July 2025.
“We’re growing Pomona. We’ll take a lot of favorite menu items from Ravish to Pomona and hope some of the fans will follow us,” she said.
“We’re doing a lot of events in Lake Worth. The city is very supportive of these.”
As for doing another restaurant, she said her energy is in Lake Worth Beach.
“We had a partner who wants to do the Ravish concept somewhere else, but nothing is set,” Dupuis said.
Blue Anchor blues
It’s been rough seas of late for the Blue Anchor British Pub in Delray Beach.
Last month, the landlord served its owner, Mark Snyder, with an eviction notice, citing rent due of about $70,000.
The state’s restaurant inspectors had closed the popular spot in the 800 block of East Atlantic Avenue in December after a rodent infestation was discovered.
The pub was cleaned up and reopened, then shut down again. This happened several times within weeks before the owner was cited with a stop-serve notice and ordered closed.
However, the order was ignored and its doors remained open. The state then cited the restaurant for violating the stop-serve. Meanwhile, the eviction notice also was posted.
Repeated attempts to speak with the landlord and the owner have not been answered. As of late March, however, the pub had reopened for service.
The Blue Anchor opened in 1996, and featured an 1840s bar and fixtures brought over from London and reassembled here. It has been a mainstay for Brit food and drink lovers.
Diners could get fish ’n’ chips, sausage rolls, bangers and mash, and a “royal brekkie.” The pub served Imperial pints of ales and lagers.
British football lovers around the county got up early to watch matches at the bar. The pub also sponsored World Cup watch parties, with fans crowding the pub and nearby parking lots.
The pub also was noted for its ghost stories connected to a departed pub resident of London.
New barbecue joint
Firing up barbecue lovers, Tropical Smokehouse is open in Delray Beach.
A James Beard-nominated chef, Rick Mace, created the barbecue that’s won numerous awards, including Best Barbecue in Florida by Southern Living.
The restaurant, at 524 W. Atlantic Ave., serves up Mace’s own specialties, including spicy wahoo dip, mojo pulled pork, DemKota Ranch beef brisket, and for the vegetarians, BBQ jackfruit. Jerk chicken, spareribs, and a plethora of sides round out the menu.
The restaurant is a spin-off of the original in West Palm Beach. Meals are available for dine in or takeout.
Lynora’s is expanding again
Another Lynora’s Italian restaurant is coming south to Delray Beach.
The locally owned chain started 50 years ago in Lake Worth Beach, and has expanded to six locations in Palm Beach, Martin and soon, Brevard counties. The nearest one in South County is in Boca Raton on Glades Road.
The Delray Beach location will be at 650 SE Fifth Ave., a former used car shop. The restaurant will be modeled after one in West Palm Beach in a former garage.
Known for its fresh pizzas and pastas, meatball and cocktail specials, the longtime family-owned restaurants offer a casual setting with indoor-outdoor dining spaces and a lively atmosphere.
Expected opening is early next year.
Doc’s reincarnation coming
Doc’s All American will rise once more.
The iconic burger and dog joint that served downtown Delray Beach residents since 1951 at Swinton and Atlantic, is being renovated as part of the Banyan Group’s mixed-use project for that corner.
Called City Center Delray, the three-story complex will include offices, retail shops and at least one other restaurant, tentatively a steakhouse.
Doc’s will remain where it is, adjoining the larger complex.
Demolition for part of the land where Dunkin’ donuts sits is in the permitting process. A summer 2027 reopening is planned.
In other news ...
Cut 432, a steakhouse on East Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach, will close at the end of April, according to an employee who asked to remain anonymous.
Cut 432, opened in 2010 by the Modern Restaurant Group, had a lively vibe and focused on prime meats. The group also owns Park Tavern on Atlantic Avenue and El Camino restaurants in Delray Beach, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale.
A rent increase is said to be the catalyst. Cut 432 will be “closing temporarily at the end of April,” the employee said, and “owners are looking for another location — hopefully in Delray.”
Jan Norris is a food writer who can be reached at nativefla@gmail.com.
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