Iconic Cocoa restaurant closes
For more than four decades, the Black Tulip restaurant in Cocoa was the spot for celebrations, birthdays, anniversaries and even astronaut crew dinners.
But Thursday night will be the last meal service before it closes for good.
There’s no question that owner Daniel Colzani’s personality was the main ingredient that made the Cocoa restaurant a success.
“I remember when I first came in, sat down on the bench and said, ‘Oh my God, we are going to own this restaurant,’” Colzani said.
Colzani is proud that both of his daughters worked in the restaurant and that he brought something new to Brevard way back then.
“It was a diner. And we turned it into fine dining. And a lot of people were a little bit skeptical because we had oysters. We had escargot on the menu. And for Cocoa residents and in Brevard, it was a little bit of a scary thing,” Colzani said.
Under a new owner, the restaurant will become fine-dining Mexican cuisine. Colzani said he would not sell to just anyone and was impressed with the young restauranteur who bought it.
The Black Tulip was very well-known in Cocoa, but it was also, for those 41 years, very well-known across the Space Coast. And it drew regulars in from much farther away.
“Walter Cronkite used to sit at the bar and have the duck,” he said. “That was the most famous dish at the Black Tulip. And mentioned to us, ‘oh, Daniel, you should name this duck a la Cronkite.’”
He also hosted many astronauts. The Space Shuttle Challenger return crew dinner was supposed to be at the Black Tulip.
But for those who never made it or missed out on booking a table on closing night, there might still be some hope.
“Don’t count us out,” he said.
Colzani proclaimed with arms wide open in the middle of his soon-to-be former dining room.
“Maybe one day the Black Tulip will blossom again,” Colzani said.