After nearly 50 years serving Orlando, Le Coq au Vin closes
Le Coq au Vin, which has served French fare in Orlando since 1976, has closed, chef/owner Reimund Pitz confirmed — at times tearful — in a call with the Orlando Sentinel.
The building, originally the sales office for manufactured homes, spent several years as a German restaurant before French-born chef Louis Perrotte, who left his corporate career at Marriott to start anew with his wife Magdalena, began what would become a 27-year run as Le Coq.
The restaurant enjoyed acclaim from the city’s top restaurant scribes and the devotion of generations of patrons.
Perrotte, who was named to the Orlando Sentinel’s Culinary Hall of Fame in 2009 by Sentinel food writer Heather McPherson, was followed in the space by longtime friend chef Reimund Pitz, who joined these same ranks in 2012.
Pitz and his wife, Sandy, have been the primary owners for the past 15 years.
“He basically handed a golden egg to us,” said Pitz of Perrotte, noting their gratitude. “We had a great run here. Always rated No. 1 for French in Orlando in these categories in all the publications, sometimes by the editor, sometimes by the people.”
Pitz informed the staff — some of whom have worked there for more than 30 years — that they had served their last dinner service at the close of business last Saturday night. The sale of the property was made official the day before.
“It was one of the toughest things my wife and I had to do in regards to business,” he said. “Saturday night, when the last meal went out, I told everyone.”
In a quote on Scott Joseph’s Orlando Restaurant Guide, which broke the story on Monday, Pitz called the closing “bittersweet,” noting that he and his wife were ready to start a new chapter. He said the same on Tuesday.
“I”m not ready to retire,” said Pitz, who is active in the culinary community. A past president of the American Culinary Federation, he will be sworn in as the Vice Chairman of the American Academy of Chefs in July. There are other plans in the works, as well, but a steady decline in business in a radically different post-COVID landscape — price hikes on necessary items that simply can’t be passed on to customers, the rising cost of labor and the shortage that has ensued — proved too challenging.
“You used to pay $40 for 30 dozen eggs,” says Pitz. “Fifteen dozen will run you $60 now. You cannot keep charging the customers more and so we had to eat that cost. And obviously, that takes away from the bottom line.”
Pitz noted — as does the restaurant’s website — that Le Coq au Vin has a rep for high-quality product at reasonable prices.
“That’s one of the reasons we’ve never spent a dollar on marketing. It’s a tribute not only to me, but the entire team here. And all of them are like family to us. It was a tough decision, but ultimately, a decision we had to make.”
Longtime members of Orlando’s culinary scene were somber about the closing of not only one of the city’s oldest long-running restaurants, but the loss of a foundational style that seems in decline.
“There is a great difference between brasserie and French cafe food and what Le Coq au Vin was doing — i.e., still serving coq au vin,” said Tim Keating. Now retired, Keating’s resume includes time spent with Ritz-Carlton and at the helm of Walt Disney World’s Flying Fish Cafe. Later, he ran the critically acclaimed Urbain 40 in Doctor Phillips. During his Disney tenure, Keating worked alongside esteemed French chef Paul Bocuse.
“This is the type of cooking I learned from. And it is almost a lost art anymore. Le Coq au Vin will be greatly missed.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
READ MORE: Best French: 2023 Orlando Sentinel Foodie Awards
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