Today we’d like to introduce you to Conni Berry.
Hi Conni, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
We bought our property on Lake Eustis in 2018. There was an existing “marina” there, but it was in poor shape. We spent the first 2 years rebuilding the docks with the help of our business partner/contractor, Daniel Divenanzo. After we completed that project we thought Eustis could use a nice waterfront restaurant and with Daniel’s previous restaurant experience and his building expertise, Lake Eustis Waterfront Grille was born! The next 3 years were spent building the perfect restaurant! We had our grand opening Nov. 2, 2022 and have continued to grow. In May 2024 we opened Coco Locos Tiki Bar on the same property which offers live music by the water, amazing sunsets and the same menu the main restaurant every weekend.
We offer a large variety of selections on our menu to fit most any palate. Our restaurant can accommodate several hundred guest with main floor dining, upstairs dining, outdoor dining and the tiki bar which as a large deck to accommodate large parties too.
My husband Jim and myself along with Daniel and our amazing General Manager, Christina Patteson have created a wonderful dining experience for everyone, whether your are coming by car or boat, we have a place for everyone.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Opening a new restaurant always has its’ challenges from staffing to supplies to weather. Being right on the water, weather effects our crowd. It took awhile to get our name out there, but with word of mouth, Facebook, Instagram and our website, more and more people are coming to our place every day.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I work for UF Health Leesburg Hospital part time and my husband is an Optometrist working part time. When we are not at our offices, we are at the restaurant and tiki bar doing whatever necessary to make sure our guests have the best experience possible.
What makes me proud is to look around and see what we accomplished with our business partner and know that we put our hearts and souls into it daily.
What sets us apart, Lake county only has a few lakefront restaurants and we have made it our goal to be the best. There are no other restaurants like ours in this area and we really appreciate the support we receive from the community. Some of our guest drive from Orlando, Clermont, Tampa, Ocala, just to name a few, but they always say it was worth the drive!
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
That we are successful. This is our first and only restaurant and I want to see it succeed in every way. I was there from day 1 when the building started and have been there ever since. We put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into this place, so it has been very important to me that we do everything we can to succeed in this business.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.LakeEustisWaterfront.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/waterfrontgrille350
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lakeeustiswaterfrontgrille
Image Credits
Brady Bass
