Palma Maria, the longtime family operated Italian restaurant in Casselberry, is closing permanently.
The restaurant had closed Jan. 4 following the death of its owner and operator Peter Rosinola Jr. In a post Monday afternoon on the Palma Maria Facebook page, the family announced that it would not reopen. Besides the loss of Rosinola, the hardships that Covid-19 has visited on businesses, especially restaurants, was another reason, according to sources familiar with the business.
Palma Maria – named for the family’s grandmother – was one of the area’s older restaurants. I first reviewed it in 1991 when it was already an established favorite among locals. It gained renown for baking its own bread and presenting each table with a whole loaf to enjoy with the meal and bagging up any bread that was left to take home.