Monitor Editor
KEYSTONE HEIGHTS— A popular Lake Region restaurant is closed while its owners rebrand the business.
Florida Cracker Kitchen at the intersection of State Road 100 and County Road 21B opened in June of 2018 after taking over the location from Tom’s High on the Hog Barbecue.
Brothers Blair and Ethan Hensley in Brooksville started Florida Cracker Kitchen, which specializes in Florida country-style cooking.
Jacksonville-based Heartfelt Hospitality Group has been operating the Keystone Heights-area restaurant in Bradford County under a licensing agreement with the Brooksville-based company.
The licensing agreement allowed Heartfelt to use the Brooksville restaurant’s brand, menu and merchandise.
Heartfelt has also been operating two eateries in Jacksonville under the Florida Cracker Kitchen name.
The two companies have terminated the licensing agreement, and the Keystone Heights restaurant will be rebranded as “Orange Blossoms Breakfast and Lunch.”
Travis Norman, the owner of Heartfelt Hospitality, said staffing shortages caused his company’s split with Florida Cracker Kitchen.
“From a staffing perspective, we had to readjust the menu, and they didn’t want us to go away from their concept,” Norman told the Jacksonville Daily Record. “We can’t hire enough people to facilitate their concept.
