St. Petersburg's Louis Pappas (1530 4th Street N., St. Petersburg, (727) 822-0900) closed its doors on Saturday night. I just caught up with Mr. Pappas a moment ago, and here's the deal:

His other five locations are going strong (up "in the high single digits relative to last year," according to Pappas), but this particular location was blighted by a real dearth of parking. Although he parted from the landlord with no hard feelings, Pappas said he was promised more parking that never materialized. The nearby American Legion took up lots of available space, and Pappas felt that customers didn't feel comfortable parking several blocks away at the nearby lake.

Pappas stuck it out in this location for nearly three years, but is currently looking at either downtown St. Petersburg or the Pasadena area for a new location.

"We absolutely have a strong core of loyal patrons in this area, and I really like the downtown market," said Pappas. He feels that his concept--fast-casual, affordable Mediterranean with a healthy bent--is just right in the current economy: "People who a couple years ago were eating at $18-$20 entree places are now turning to healthy places like us, where dishes are under $10."