Jan Norris: Food and Florida

Economy and location too much for Cooks to overcome, owner says

Chef John Carlino, owner of Cooks Abacoa in Jupiter, said there just wasn’t enough momentum to carry the cooking school/bar/eatery through season.

“It was a pure business decision,” Carlino said. “I really wanted it to work out, but we just couldn’t sustain it in this economy.”

He had been catering from the well-equipped kitchen as well, but envisioned a cooking “theater” where diners could come to learn new dishes with friends, then sit and dine afterward in a casual setting.

No high visibility

Though recent beer dinners, and demo-classes with dinners proved popular with a group of food lovers, the foot traffic and weeknight business in the tucked-away location on Main Street in Abacoa just wasn’t there, he said.

Doors closed this past week; at this time, we have no word on other plans for the chef, a recipe developer for commercial foods, and former instructor at Florida Culinary Institute.