Yes, Cypress Table has closed in Cocoa Village — but owner says new sites will be scouted

It didn’t take Cypress Table long to leave impressions on diners in Cocoa Village.

So when the restaurant closed April 14, some didn’t come to eat, only to say goodbye and wish owner Patricia Rieger and her staff well.

“Dang, we’ll miss you here,” Cocoa resident Wanda Schultz said. “I feel like we were just getting to know you.”

Rieger said she closed the venue rather than renew a lease on a building with parking problems and that cannot be expanded or modified for drive-up service — Cypress Table is much loved for its house-made doughnuts — and which reportedly will be put up for sale soon.

This does not, however, mean that Cypress Table will go away for good, Rieger said, contradicting reports to the contrary.

“Cypress Table will be leaving Cocoa Village, and we'll engage our following over the summer as we scout new locations,” she said.

“The concept will be taking on some changes too, but will always be a scratch, chef-driven concept. While we don't want to give too much away, our hope is that Cypress Table will be on the Space Coast, and all over Florida at some point, serving up fast-casual, Florida-inspired savory items. And we will, of course, have our Cypress Dough.”

Rieger opened the narrow, brick-walled restaurant in 2022, having started Cypress Table in 2019 as a catering company. Its reputation followed and Cypress Table became one of the village’s busier venues, well-received for the twists on foods in its ever-changing, Florida-flavored menu.

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Just in January, FLORIDA TODAY named the eatery among the 10 Space Coast Restaurants of the Year, with praise for a variety of sandwiches and "ever-changing lineup of doughnuts."

Rieger added that the move had been in the works for some time because, in addition to considering the effects of the potential sale of the building, she has been busy working with partner Corey Russ to open nostalgically Floridian The Brevardian on the Indian River north of the Eau Gallie Arts District, in what formerly was Bonefish Willy’s.

It will be a full-service restaurant with an elegant dining room, a full bar and the foods of the Sunshine State, including oysters, alligator and quail. Members of Cypress Table’s staff, as well as its doughnuts, are expected to move to The Brevardian when it opens in coming weeks.

“I'm especially grateful to have such an amazing staff who will help us box up our little space, but some of whom will be joining us at The Brevardian for the summer,” Rieger said.

“Keeping my staff at CT on in the (Old Florida Restaurant Group) is probably one of the things I'm most grateful for. They are all absolutely amazing.”

In the meanwhile, she continues to scour the area for a former fast-food venue in the right location that could serve as the new Cypress Table and bring it as much affection as it felt in Cocoa Village.

“We have absolutely loved being a part of this community,” she said. “We will post regularly (to social media) over the summer, updating everyone on progress, new recipes and teasers on locations.”

Lyn Dowling is a freelance food and lifestyles writer based in Melbourne. 

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Cypress Table closes: Cocoa Village restaurant could get new site