After 12 years of 'love, laughter, blood, sweat and many tears,' Simply's Sara's announces restaurant's closure

After 12 years of “love, laughter, blood, sweat and many tears,” Simply Sara’s is closing.

Located in the heart of Ortega, the restaurant was known for its scratch-made authentic, Southern-style menu using closely-held, decades-old family recipes.

In a Facebook post shared on Thursday afternoon, owners James and Sally Mangham announced the closure.

“The climate over the last couple of years as we all know, has been brutal,” the post read.

The announcement makes permanent the restaurant’s recent closure for a family medical emergency.

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"As many of you know, I am currently recovering from major emergency surgery and would be out of work for several months anyway,” Sally Mangham wrote.

The Manghams opened Simply Sara’s in 2011 in a small storefront in a non-descript retail strip in Murray Hill. There, everything on the menu was made from scratch, including salad dressings, barbecue sauces, pimento cheese and tomato sauce - which took more than nine hours to prepare, James Mangham said.

The restaurant was small and, with no room for seating, it offered take-out meals only.

But within two years, Simply Sara's found a new home in Ortega, in The Village Store, a nearly 100-year-old Colonial Revival building listed on the National Register of Historic Places – in a space big enough to accommodate 40 diners inside and another 16 outside.

With the move, the couple added a dozen staff members to help with the business they started from scratch and worked together to build.

The restaurant’s menu included a rotating selection of comfort food classics: Chicken and Dumplings, Baked Ham with Sweet Potato and Apple Casserole, Chicken Alfredo over Linguine, Smothered Pork Chops with Mashed Potatoes, Fried Chicken and more served with Southern staples knife-cut corn, sautéed squash and zucchini, fresh green beans, mixed greens and more.

Homemade desserts, including Sally Mangham’s signature crispy cookies and famous Milky Way Cake, were customer favorites, the perfect ending to a family-style meal or as a special treat all on their own.

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During the pandemic, the restaurant transitioned back to carry-out, curbside and delivery-only service, offering a limited, rotating menu of favorites.

“We have shared so many memories over the years. To those of you who have supported us wholeheartedly over the years, my family and I thank you. This business is the hardest business ever to navigate," the post continued.

"I hope that when you think of your favorite cake, pie, cookie or food from us, a smile comes to your face. I know that any time I cook certain things, I am reminded of many of you, remembering that what I am making, happens to be your favorite."

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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Simply Sara's restaurant in Jacksonville, Florida abruptly closes