August 5, 2020
The Gainesville retail landscape is rapidly changing due to a combination of mass development and the novel coronavirus. Now, a business named after the city's most famous landmark has closed its doors- at least for the time being.
The Swamp Restaurant, nicknamed after the University of Florida football stadium, has temporarily ceased operations. The land on which the restaurant stood is set to be sold to a development group and razed in order to make way for a new high rise apartment complex.
Luckily for local patrons- mostly University of Florida students- the restaurant is not gone for good. The Swamp owner Ron DeFilippo made it clear that he plans to reopen his business in the exact same location once the high rise is built. A similar setup exists in Gainesville's The Standard apartment building, which has a Bento Asian Kitchen and Sushi built right into the building.
The earliest estimated reopening date is January of 2022.
Despite the restaurant's plans for revival, University of Florida students are not happy. "I don’t know a single person who values high-rise apartment complexes over local businesses in Gainesville other than those directly benefiting from those payouts,” The Swamp hostess Cassie Crotzer said in an interview with The Independent Alligator. “It’s really sad because I know that Gainesville will look nothing like it used to when I come back to visit after I graduate."
