ORLANDO, Fla. – Too Much Sauce, a restaurant on Mills Avenue in Orlando that specialized in serving gluten-free comfort foods with homemade sauces, announced its immediate and permanent closure on Sunday.
On Facebook, in a statement written by owner Evan Dimov to update followers, the decision to close was attributed to fast changes, a flexible yet ultimately non-agreeable lease and COVID-19 impacting crucial team members.
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“As you all know, this past week has been one of the most brutal weeks due to some team members testing positive for COVID, including my wife,” Dimov said. “...Everything changed so fast yet seemed to point in a single direction that was hard to ignore. There were an array of reasons that led us to make a tough decision, including the imminent renewal of our lease. Although the landlord has been flexible with us, we could not agree with our option to renew our lease. Thus, I am afraid to announce we have decided to close the business, effective immediately and permanently.”
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Dimov went on to thank customers for almost five years of patronage, and to lay praise and gratitude on employees, past and present.
“When our employees found out the news at our final team meeting, they were nothing but understanding and grateful. Although devastated by the unfortunate news, they still showed their true colors and incredible work ethic by finishing the week strong. Due to these great qualities of theirs, we were able to line up many of them with jobs after Too Much Sauce,” Dimov said.
News 6 had previously reported on the restaurant in April 2020, when Dimov said he was caught off guard upon receiving $10,000 in Paycheck Protection Program funds early-on in the pandemic.
“I opened my computer and I said something is wrong, and I put on my glasses, and I’m like are these my glasses? I saw an extra zero there, and I said whoa this is fantastic,” Dimov said.
Dimov wrote in the post Sunday that his team tried as hard as they could to save the small family business, and he asked that fans of the restaurant show understanding.
“From our family to yours, keep calm and stay saucy,” Dimov said.