posted 03-04-2011 05:44 PM               

But, sadly, sometime last fall, I'm told it went out of business. I wonder what they did with all those autographed astronauts photos?

posted 04-09-2012 01:27 PM               

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Originally posted by tfrielin:
I wonder what they did with all those autographed astronauts photos?

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posted 04-09-2012 01:28 PM               

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Originally posted by Kevmac:
I have heard about Durango Steak House

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posted 04-09-2012 08:00 PM               

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Originally posted by MarylandSpace:
I just heard from a good friend that Shuttles Grill in Merritt Island, FL is now closed. I always enjoyed eating there after a KSC visit.

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60 Minutes ran a highly inaccurate piece on April 1 about the impact on the Brevard County economy after the retirement of the Space Shuttle. Scott Pelley interviewed the Shuttles owner, who was crying and claiming the end of the program was the reason his business closed down.

I live about two miles from Shuttles, and I can assure you that it closed for good reasons that had nothing to do with the retirement of the Space Shuttle.

This guy was not the owner who popularized it with space memorabilia. The last owner turned it into a sports bar and removed much of the space memorabilia, replacing it with Boston Red Sox memorabilia. The outside space murals were painted over with a baseball theme.

But the main reason it folded is that the service was terrible. We gave up after a couple visits where we waited without success for nearly an hour for our meal to arrive. The food was mediocre at best.

You don't have to take my word for it. Click here to read its reviews on TripAdvisor.com. You can see how many bad reviews it got in the last couple years before it closed.

posted 04-09-2012 10:26 PM               

NOT where the astronauts eat... The sign outside the restaurant advertises "Where the Astronauts Eat." Astronauts are very busy people and don't have 2 hours to waste eating a dry overcooked hamburger and fries.

posted 04-09-2012 11:00 PM               

Unfortunately, Shuttles Bar and Grill had never been a favorite eating place of mine, and it's only about a three-minute drive from there to my home/office on northern Merritt Island just below the Kennedy Space Center.

Being near the space center, it was one of the closest "off-base" eating places aerospace workers could meet and get a bite to eat.

While nearby Cape-town, Cocoa Beach, and Titusville were too far away from KSC, it would take too long for most workers to eat out and get back to their work stations within a reasonable lunch break time-frame.

At first, Shuttles did allow workers to get back to their work locations, but later, many working patrons were not able to do so.

When Shuttles first opened many years ago, it wasn't all that bad in service and food quality (it was, in my opinion, "just okay"), but it has never been a favorite restaurant of mine, and for other reasons, too.

My last two occasions there were a meeting/lunch with the ASF folks in 2011 and beforehand, a late lunch with a shuttle astronaut friend.

Since last year, I never did go back before it closed, nor did/would I suggest Shuttles to visiting space friends and tourists.

Changing directions a little, there is another space-themed restaurant here on the Island that I don't think anyone has mentioned yet.

Applebee's, located across from the big Merritt Square shopping center, has been displaying a bunch of space memorabilia on 3-4 of their walls since they first opened up during the early 1990s.

As you first enter the main restaurant doors, you can see framed astronaut signed photos, plaques, magazine covers, launch pad relics, some Aldrin-owned artifacts, along with a few other aerospace collectibles.

There is also another "space wall" located in a semi-private room of Applebee's towards the back, or north-end, of the restaurant.

posted 04-10-2012 05:31 AM               

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Originally posted by englau:
Are there any new places that opened up around there? Even that don't have space memorabilia, but are just nice places to dine?

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The best place to eat north of the 528 Beachline is the King's Duck Inn. It's about two miles south of where Shuttles was. KDI is a bit pricey and the service is a bit slow, but they're packed every night and the owner never whined on 60 Minutes.

A hidden gem is Nautical Spirits in the Harbortown Marina. It's a bit hard to find. From SR-3 AKA Courtenay Parkway, just before you get to the 528 Beachline there's a road to the north of 528 called Sea Ray Drive that parallels 528. Harbortown is a couple miles east of SR-3 on Sea Ray Drive. Nautical Spirits is comparable to King's Duck Inn but it's a much nicer ambiance, right on the marina with a view.

Neither KDI or Nautical Spirits has a space theme, but they're the best you'll find north of 528. Unless you want to go to Subway.

posted 04-10-2012 06:08 AM               

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Originally posted by SpaceKSCBlog:
North Merritt Island is desperately in need of a neighborhood shopping center with a couple good restaurants.

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posted 05-22-2013 03:52 PM               

I lived in Costa del Sol across the street and tipped a few there among the astronauts. When Huck and Jesse ran it, it was quite a place. When it folded, I bought a few pictures from the wall and as they removed their long astro-butt-polished bench seat and another shorter one, as well (and found a Moon Hut menu later) and still have them.

I was going to cut the benches into mounts for 8x10 photos, but had no saw (in condos), and eventually moved up here to Geogia mountains. Have a lot of photos of the Moon Hut goings-on and the destruction of Fat Boy's on A1A.

Found my Moon Hut page master but someone stole it. Same for the Fat Boy site. Oh well, will keep searching.