Louie Mack's (Lakeland, Florida)

Louie Mack's in its vacant days (Loopnet) Louie Mack's opened in June 2006 at 5700 South Florida Avenue, after months of delays and the restaurant was one of Lakeland's largest (at more than 10,000 square feet) and upscale steakhouses, hoping to compete with Charley's Steak House and Ruth's Chris Steak House, neither of which had Lakeland locations.

Unfortunately, Louie Mack's wasn't a big success. It opened to fairly average reviews and likely had to be retooled several times to be more affordable, ultimately shuttering in 2014 despite (or because of) the efforts of new management.¹ The last month of Louie Mack's saw it closed for a few days for finding live cockroaches in the kitchen.

It would remain vacant for nearly a decade before reopening as Sushi Masa in 2023.

1. The second page of the article can be found here.