Lake Wales Loses Mexican Restaurant

A popular lunch spot on Central Avenue has closed, leaving locals hungry for Mexican-style favorites out of luck.

Anita's Mexican Restaurant offered a variety of dishes from simple tacos to chiles rellenos. The family-operated restaurant struggled with limited staffing and had recently begun to close at 6:00 pm.

The closing leaves a hole in the dining choices for the area, but creates an opportunity for a new downtown food service operation. The Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency is offering incentive matching grants of up to $50,000 to help defer the construction and remodeling costs for new food-service establishments.