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Well-known Vero restaurant
<br />set to close doors Tuesday
<br />Angafa Smith
<br />s—, mTm cw't
<br />New'paprr
<br />USA TODAY Nt ORK- FLORIDA
<br />Recent months have
<br />been rough for restaura-
<br />teur Patrick Tomassi, so
<br />he said he had to make
<br />some tough decisions.
<br />On Tuesday, he will of-
<br />ficially close the doors to
<br />The Quilted Giraffe Res-
<br />taurant in Vero Beach.
<br />Although Tomassi had
<br />only owned the nearly
<br />20 -year-old restaurant
<br />for the past seven years,
<br />his said his love for the
<br />customers and food ran
<br />deep.
<br />"1 like to treat my cus-
<br />tomers the way I would
<br />want to be treated while
<br />eating out," said Tomaeai
<br />who would often go table
<br />to table to visit with din-
<br />ers.
<br />He said he made it his
<br />goal to be on the restau-
<br />rant floor night after
<br />night, whether it was to
<br />check on orders or to chat
<br />with frequent customers.
<br />"Mom-and-pop Places
<br />are hard to duplicate; To-
<br />massi said. "People like to
<br />see the owners there and
<br />that's so hard to find now-
<br />adays in the restaurant
<br />business"
<br />But customers didnt
<br />frequent The Quilted Gi-
<br />raffe Restaurant just to
<br />eat, they would make an
<br />evening out of it, Tomassi
<br />said.
<br />"I talk with everybody
<br />and I think that's what
<br />separated us from other
<br />places, we had a personal
<br />touch," he said. "Every-
<br />day was like a big family."
<br />Besides the personal
<br />tableside service and
<br />food (salmon "'the
<br />most popular ordered
<br />dishes on the menu), To-
<br />massi believes the tea
<br />-
<br />munint's entertainment
<br />options helped keep din-
<br />ers returning week after
<br />week.
<br />"when we bought it,
<br />we turned it into more en-
<br />tertainment," Patrick
<br />said. "We had a lot of mu-
<br />sic, a lot of dancing and it
<br />certainly became a fun
<br />place"
<br />That happy environ-
<br />ment changed on March
<br />16 when his wife, Susy
<br />Tomassi, 73, walked to
<br />the back porch of The
<br />Quilted Giraffe Restau-
<br />rant and vanished.
<br />Surveillance video at a
<br />nearby shopping plana
<br />captured Sorry Tomassi,
<br />who suffers from demen-
<br />tia, walking by before ex-
<br />iting the frame, which
<br />marks her last known
<br />whereabouts.
<br />Initially, Patrick To-
<br />massi closed the restau-
<br />rant for the summer, but
<br />couldn't bring himself to
<br />reopen it with Susy still
<br />missing.
<br />"It came to a point to move
<br />on,' he said. 'I dont want to
<br />listen to songs that I danced
<br />with Susy there, it's just not
<br />the same thing and I'm not
<br />the same.”
<br />He said after Tuesday's
<br />auction of restaurant content
<br />and other items, he just needs
<br />to take a break and "evaluate
<br />what rm going to do"
<br />He thanks customers for
<br />their support over the years.
<br />People who have The Quilted
<br />Giraffe Restaurant gift cards
<br />are asked to bring them to the
<br />restaurant on Aug. 28 during
<br />the auction for a full refund.
<br />Theatre -Go -Round Dinner
<br />Theatre will be moving to a
<br />new location before its next
<br />performance.
<br />Patrick Tomassi still owns
<br />Mr. Manatees in Vero Beach
<br />and he said it would continue
<br />to be open operate as usual.
<br />x TCPALM.COM 1 SATURDAY, AUGUST 25,2018 1 17A
<br />Desegregation
<br />Continued from Page lA
<br />after four parents sued the school district
<br />over Its treatment of black students. It
<br />specifies plans for creating racially bal-
<br />anced schools, taught by diverse staffs, to
<br />establish an equitable education system for
<br />minority students.
<br />The NAACP on Friday agreed the district
<br />"is entitled to a declaration of partial uni-
<br />tary status already in the area of facilities,
<br />non -instructional staff, and administrative
<br />staff," school officials said in a statement.
<br />Representatives of the the school district
<br />and NAACP signed the nine -page agree-
<br />ment Friday afternoon.
<br />Frost recognized recognized current
<br />School Board members and former board
<br />members Matt McCain and Claudia Jime-
<br />nez, who, along with Superintendent Mark
<br />Rendell, who in recent years restarted dis-
<br />trict efforts to comply with the desegrega-
<br />tion order. over recent years.
<br />"This begins a new era of uniting as a
<br />community," Frost said.
<br />The board, as part of the agreement, 11
<br />must create an "equity committee" respon-
<br />— `' (772)770-2488
<br />770 8th Court Vero Beach, FL 32962
<br />(One block west of U.S. 1 & 8th Street)
<br />TEAM
<br />772.633.6214
<br />sible for tracking the district's progress
<br />with the remaining aspects of the desegre-
<br />gation order. This committee will meet for
<br />the next five years, school officials said.
<br />The desegregation order will be lifted
<br />completely, though, if the district complies
<br />with the agreement over the next three
<br />years, school officials said.
<br />But for that to happen, the district must
<br />improve its minority -teacher recruitment
<br />efforts and ensure minority students are
<br />given the same academic -achievement op-
<br />portunities as all students, according to the
<br />agreement.
<br />The new committee also will monitor
<br />other aspects of the order, including trans-
<br />portation and student campus assign-
<br />ments.
<br />The five -member committee will have
<br />tTwo chosen by the board, two by the
<br />NAACP and a fifth chosen by those four ap-
<br />pointees, according to the agreement.
<br />They are to meet quarterly said present a
<br />report to the board the first Monday of No-
<br />vember each year, according to the agree-
<br />ment.
<br />Of 34 Florida school districts once under
<br />desegregation ordem, R Including Indian
<br />River, remain under court orders, according
<br />to a 2016 Propublica report.
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<br />L".1 No.
<br />Ample 25.2018
<br />X
<br />pOexDp B
<br />Michael Nottage, 772-532-2768
<br />5563 43rd Court 1 11:00 - 2:00 816 T
<br />Robin Raiff, 772-63 4
<br />earling Trail I 0
<br />
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