Restaurant news: 2 new Ormond Beach restaurants close their doors for good

Both Millie’s North and 600 Degrees Pizza in Ormond Beach suddenly closed their doors in the final weeks of 2023 after opening less than a year ago.

Following the wild success of Millie’s Restaurant and Catering, a Guy Fieri-approved favorite that opened nearly six years ago in Daytona Beach Shores, the Ormond eateries were predicted to go the distance. Chris Chibbaro, co-owner of the three restaurants alongside his wife, Amy, said a number of factors played a role in their closures.

Looking back at the last year

Culture and community, Chibbaro said, make up Millie’s foundation — a place where the community feels like part of a family; a place people can depend on, enjoy and trust with life’s most precious moments. Looking back, Chibbaro noted the abundance of time that was allotted to opening the original Millie’s — a luxury that allowed him and his team to foster meaningful relationships, focus on community outreach and connect with the town.

“We didn’t have the opportunity to do that with the other two places and I do think that hurt us. In this original location, when we first opened, we went to those social hours, and if we could find a group of 20 locals standing around, we said, ‘Hey, what do you want’ and then did our job to give it to them better than anybody else," he said.

“I don’t think we had the time or the capital to really do that at the other two places. And I think that hurt a lot, because when you build your entire culture on community and on selflessness, you have to prove that to the community before they come out.”

Community-based dining, a concept the restaurateur credits his wife with creating, has long been the goal for each of their eateries, hoping to be places people recognize and frequent time and time again; places where customers are known by name and welcomed with open arms.

“We don’t believe the restaurant belongs to us; we believe it belongs to the community,” Chibbaro said. “We want this to be a neighborhood place, and we just didn’t do a good enough job making those other places neighborhood places.”

What went wrong at Millie's North?

According to the restaurateur, while both restaurants closed for a number of reasons, it boiled down to foot traffic at Millie’s North. Despite new menu features, exceptionally fresh seafood and a variety of marketing strategies, the beach town eatery — only 7 miles down the road from its long-standing counterpart — simply couldn’t sustain the volume it needed.

“Maybe we got too big too fast, you know? Both places closed for different reasons,” Chibbaro said. “Millie’s North closed because we simply weren’t busy enough. Which was a shock, you know? We thought that was a slam dunk — larger place, full bar — and people just didn’t come.”

Although 600 Degrees found immediate success during its first month, it fell into hardship as the year continued. The restaurant replaced what was formerly Pagano's in Ormond’s Rivergate Village Shopping Center.

“(600 Degrees) was something where we came into a business that was established for 20 years, and they were floundering. We came in to see if we could rebrand and kind of dig it out of a hole — and we just couldn’t … This location just didn’t work out for them or us. And that was hard. It was all hard,” Chibbaro said.

“Pizza was my first restaurant job ever, so I don’t think it was difficulties with the concept. It was difficulties with being undercapitalized, and we just kind of couldn’t get over the hump that the previous place was in.”

Times are harder now than before

It’s no secret that economic turmoil has persisted over the last several years following the COVID-19 pandemic. According to an ABC News article, a number of recurring challenges, including rising food costs, staffing shortages and inflation have made the restaurant industry an increasingly difficult place to thrive — especially as a small business.

According to 2022 data released by the U.S. Small Business Administration, more than 3 million small businesses call Florida home, making up over 99% of Florida’s total business population. However, between March 2020 and March 2021, while more than 97,000 small businesses opened their doors in Florida, more than 66,000 simultaneously closed.

Volusia-Flagler has experienced nearly a dozen restaurant closures within just the last several months, including Daytona Beach’s iconic Sloppy Joes Restaurant, Ormond’s Super Mario’s Pizza, and Bunnell’s Tomahawk Tavern.

“I think nine times out of 10 if you think you have enough money to open a business, you’re wrong,” Chibbaro said.

With over 20 years’ experience in the industry, he noted that times are harder now than ever before.

“This is a hard business to be in — right now the hardest we’ve ever seen it," he continued.

"I’m sure you see it just at the grocery store, too. What you’re paying now versus what you were paying two years ago is through the roof — and we're the same way. You can only pass so much of that onto the guests before they say ‘Well, I can’t go out and have a $28 hamburger.’”

Key components to a successful business

While there’s no magic formula to building a successful business, there are a variety of key components that Chibbaro says have kept the original Millie’s a community-wide staple that’s here to stay.

According to the restaurateur, integrity is everything. He noted that the local eatery has never and will never compromise on the quality of its cuisine, and continues to provide customers with a fisherman-to-table style menu comprised of exceptionally fresh seafood, like the local fish sandwich, shrimp and grits, local fish collars and more.

“And we always say, were not in the food business, were in the people business. So, find good staff, keep them, do what you need to do. People are the number one thing … and never compromise on your visions.”

Common business misconceptions

One of the most common misconceptions surrounding the industry, Chibbaro tells me, is that owning a restaurant is easy. According to the owner, experience working in a restaurant — through a plethora of high and low seasons — is crucial, and unwavering dedication is key.

“When you go out to a restaurant, it’s fun. When you have a dinner party at your house, and you cook for 12, it's fun. OK, well now you’re gonna cook for 200, twice a day, and every dish better be the same. And you’re gonna do it again tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that," Chibbaro said.

“Your feet are going to hurt; your brain is going to hurt. So, I think anybody who opens a restaurant should work in one for at least two years … I don’t want to make it sound like it’s such a hard industry, but you know, it is a hard industry. This is a hard job to do … but it’s rewarding also.”

He said with "hindsight being 2020," they wouldn't have opened the two new restaurants without raising more funds first.

"(We were) financially over our heads, for sure,” he explained.

“I think I was blinded by my optimism, you know? Look at this team, how could anything go wrong? But the beach still isn’t being built back; that hurt our tourism for sure. And talking to other restaurants — some big restaurants that have been around for a long time — they’re down. Everybody’s down.”

Reflecting over the last several weeks, Chibbaro described his gratitude for the Millie’s community — both staff and customers alike that have shown an outpouring of support to him and his family.

“I think restaurants are like life; you win a lot, and you lose sometimes — and I think that’s OK,” Chibbaro said. “Our triumphs here at the original Millie’s will far outshine our failures at the other places when we look back on this next year.”

Helena Perray is the restaurant and dining writer for The Daytona Beach News-Journal. A New Jersey native and passionate storyteller, she can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow her on Instagram and Facebook. Support local journalism by subscribing

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Millie's North and 600 Degrees Pizza close their doors in Ormond Beach