Cafe bows out of Lakewood Ranch location

The Black Walnut Cafe eatery will no longer construct its first Florida restaurant in Lakewood Ranch.

Texas-based Black Forest Ventures, the landowner for the 1.5-acre site at 8165 Lakewood Ranch Boulevard, immediately north of Lakewood Ranch Town Hall, officially put the property up for sale Aug. 18.

“Although Lakewood Ranch is a great community, we are no longer planning to develop the Black Walnut Cafe as a stand-alone restaurant on this site,” Black Forest Ventures spokesman Haydar Kustu said, noting there is a restaurant restriction on the lakefront site. “I am confident there is another group out there who would like to develop on this great site.”

Black Forest Ventures purchased the property in December 2014 and had about two years to start development, according to the terms of its purchase agreement.

The casual eatery offers a variety of breakfast foods, as well as burgers and salads. In 2002 it opened its first location in Houston and has expanded with several more locations in and around Austin, Texas as well as Dallas and Atlanta. 

To view the property listing, click here.