DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. —
Despite being the height of the season for beachgoers and local businesses, Sam’s Coal Fired Pizza shop in Daytona Beach has a closed sign displayed prominently in its window. This closure is expected to last for the next eight months.
The shop’s owner, Sam Tadros, along with his wife Lucy, decided to close their business after the county commenced construction in the area. Sam’s Coal Fired Pizza is located on International Speedway Boulevard, right by the “World’s Most Famous Beach” ramp. The county closed this iconic ramp in early June for improvements.
County officials have outlined plans to relocate the restrooms, add more parking spaces, install bike racks, and upgrade the sidewalks and lighting. This comprehensive project is anticipated to take about ten months to complete.
Initially, Tadros had hoped to keep his business open during the construction period. However, he soon realized that customer traffic dwindled significantly compared to when the shop first opened two months ago.
“There’s no access to the road. I mean, yeah, you can come in, but people usually come here, grab food, and then they go on to the beach, but the beach ramp is closed,” Tadros explained. “I come downstairs, and I sit here, I dwell it over. I mean, like, how could they do this to us during peak season? That is a lot of money we lost.”
Tadros plans to reopen in early February and mentioned that they will take this opportunity to add more seating and make improvements to the shop.
The iconic “World’s Most Famous Beach” sign has been temporarily removed and will be repositioned about 40 feet towards Atlantic Avenue as part of the ongoing project.
The entire project is expected to be completed by the spring of next year.