Piccadilly

We moved to Florida in August of 1967. It was practically on my eighth birthday. Seemed like we always moved around my birthday.


I remember when we first went down to Florida, it was very, well, primitive. Moving from Huntsville, Alabama where everyone had brick, two story houses, it was so weird to see one story pink or green cinder block homes. I thought, "oh, wow, are we going to live in a pink house?" You really don't see much of that today. Most of the homes are stucco or brick.


It wasn't until a few years after we moved to Florida that a new concept was being built on the island (Merritt Island). A mall!  At the time we weren't quite sure about it. Soon we had the Merritt Square Mall, with all kinds of stuff; theaters, a pet shop, stores for all our shopping needs, and restaurants were under one roof. One particular restaurant we came to love was the Piccadilly. The Piccadilly was a cafeteria style restaurant. It became our favorite place to eat. Until the age of 12, I would get a Satellite plate. I was able to pick a meat and two sides. I usually got fried fish, mashed potatoes (no gravy), and macaroni and cheese. Oooooh boy! Do they EVER have good macaroni and cheese!!!! Then I could get a roll, a drink and a piece of pie. Because their pies were so good and inexpensive, this was the only place we were allowed to get dessert.  As an adult, I always get their veggie plate--fried okra, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, no gravy, a raised roll, and water. 


Until a couple of years ago, my mom and dad use to frequent the Piccadilly quite often; like every day. For about $15, my parents could BOTH eat!!! This included their drinks, rolls, veggies, main dish and dessert and tip! Can't beat that!


Sadly, our Piccadilly days in Florida have come to a close. After over 40 years, they closed all the restaurants in Central Florida. Luckily, we still have them here in Louisiana. My oldest son and I just went there the other day. I said to him, "Do you realized this maybe the last time we ever eat at a Piccadilly?" That really makes me sad. Until we moved to Louisiana, the only times that the kids and I would go to the Piccadilly was when we went to visit my family. Those days are gone, and now that we are moving, no more Piccadilly. :(