Table 55
Eat & Drink
American
People often look at an esteemed and storied property and wonder what they would hear if “the walls could talk.” At Table 55, we believe it would be the land on which this restaurant is located that would have a tale to tell if it were to speak. After all, where the building stands today was once 55 acres of fertile land. That’s where the story starts.
A sweet dream
Spring 1882. A Florida gentleman named Henry Kendall found himself experiencing a recurring dream night after night. In the dream, Kendall saw himself managing dozens of acres of fruit groves. The dreams ceased, but the destiny did not. In 1883, the story has Kendall purchasing the land and, indeed, managing fruit groves on about 55 acres. It was not long until Kendall’s fruit earned the reputation as “the freshest in the south land.” A precursor, in a way, to the freshest ingredients used to prepare meal selections at Table 55.
If this land could talk
Today, Kendall’s legacy is the street that shares his name; Kendall Drive. Names and places, people and faces, change. The property saw different incarnations through the years. Some you would know, some you would not. A potato field, a battleground, a park, land for entertainment and religious events, an empty lot. Though trotted over by children’s shoes, horse’s hooves, and traveler’s boots, the land remained rich acreage all the while. As the story lives on, we decided a restaurant serving meals in the dedicated farm fresh dining tradition needed a name paying homage to the land it was built upon.
And that’s the story … for now
Reading the words describing this land, and its name, the question may arise, “Is this a true story?” If it isn’t, it ought to be.
