Iconic Ocala restaurant now has new ownership

Wolfy’s Restaurant, an iconic eatery and meeting spot on East Silver Springs Boulevard for over 40 years, has started 2024 with new ownership.

Baby Jayce, eight months, was enjoying breakfast at the eatery on a recent day with his parents, Kayla and Freddy Goins of Ocala.

Freddy Goins said both he and his wife have eaten at the restaurant since they were about Jayce’s age.

“(Wolfy’s) is traditional and nostalgic and the food is good,” said Freddy Goins.

“My wife likes the breakfast wraps (and) I like the crispy hash browns,” said Freddy Goins, owner of Gold Street real estate brokerage in Ocala. Kayla Goins is a wedding photographer and also with the brokerage.

Wolfy’s new owner, Diane German, took over on Jan. 2 from the family who operated the restaurant for at least four decades. The former operator retired.

All about the new owner at Wolfy's

German, a native of Chicago, moved to the Ocala area in 1984 and worked with Golden Flake four years before getting involved in the local food industry.

German worked in catering with Holiday Inn and the Radisson locally and by the 1990s opened her own catering operation, Bon Appetite, with her late husband, Donald.

The couple catered affairs with upwards of 250 people before taking over operation of a tea room in a local department store the mid 1990s.

The couple later opened Beginnings, a fine dining restaurant on west State Road 200.

Most recently, German operated a pizza franchise and Grammy’s restaurant in Citra, then was away from the workplace for about 18 months.

German’s husband died in 2020. She has two adult children and has cared for her 26-year-old grandson with special needs from infancy.

German said when she heard Wolfy’s was up for sale she “prayed on it” and then decided to take the leap.

What's new at Wolfy's?

German plans to add a few new dishes like fried green tomatoes, homemade soups and more to the longstanding favorites like pot roast, meatloaf, prime rib and cabbage and corned beef. She intends to expand the days some dishes are served.

German pointed out the first artwork posted at the restaurant since her arrival: a coloring book page done by a child named Karter.

German said when she purchased the restaurant she intended to keep the name and longtime employees like 35-year veteran waitress Trish Eubanks.

“(German) is awesome (and) I appreciate the way she treats us. I love my job,” Eubanks said.

Elizabeth Ellis, hostess and cashier and 20-year Wolfy’s employee, said the eatery has repeat customers who “we love” and “wonder where they are” if they don’t come in regularly.

A visit to the eatery on a recent weekday morning revealed a hub of activity and a steady stream of customers.

Trellis Hagins, a 30-year customer, stated in a later text message that she visits often with her husband, the Rev. Dennis Hagins Jr., owner of Headlinerz Barber Lounge & Salon.

Trellis Hagins wrote: “During the week it's not uncommon to find him and other small business owners there talking and sharing a meal.”

Trellis Hagins enjoys breakfast at Wolfy’s while her husband like the restaurant’s fish and homemade soups and chili.

“The prices are right, (the) food is good and the servers are like extended family members. Many of them we know from other restaurants around town,” she wrote.

Greg Steen of Family’s Choice Electrical Repair and Collin Rogers of Allan and Rogers Air Conditioning and Refrigeration found Wolfy’s an ideal spot for a business lunch. Clinton Hart, former NFL player with the Los Angeles Chargers and Philadelphia Eagles, owner of Healthy Harts Fitness gym in Ocala, has been a regular at Wolfy’s for perhaps 10 years.

Carl Smallwood and friend Mike Parker are also regulars.

“Good country cooking. Hope it continues,” Smallwood said.

Longtime customer David Dillman gathered with six other friends who have dined at Wolfy’s for about 14 years.

“(The restaurant is) even better with the change of ownership,” Dillman said.

Ron McMillin, former basketball coach with Vanguard High School, was eating with the group. He recalled knowing Regi Harris, a cook at the restaurant, as a basketball player at another school.

Wes Wheeler, part of the group, said some are members of First Baptist Church of Ocala and he loves the restaurant.

Charles Gaddis is a University of Kentucky fan among many University of Florida Gator fans who eats with the group.

Customers Brenda and John Sands, a truck driver with Walmart, dined recently and stopped to chat with German. Brenda Sands applauded German’s efforts to make improvements.

“(German) is a very friendly people person. I also like the new recipes she's adding but still keeping the regular menu too. She's added pizzazz to the restaurant,” Brenda Sands wrote in a later text.

In the kitchen, cooks Regi Harris and Carlos Sanchez keep the orders moving as servers like Taylor Stewart and Breanna Bennett pick up as many as six plates of food each trip.

Harris, also a youth minister at Kingdom Revival Church, spoke of “passion” in one’s work as workers hustled about the kitchen.

Restaurant surprise: After 40 years, he's selling his iconic Ocala eatery

April Jones, a 26-year employee, said a server might have up to eight tables to monitor.

Betty Jo Bradley and Doris Waters came in near lunch time and sat near a sign that reads: “Wolfy’s Where Friends Meet Friends.”

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Classic restaurant in Ocala, Florida has new ownership