Carlin Park's Oceanfront Restaurant Space Has Sat Empty for Four Years — and Jupiter Beachgoers Are Still Waiting

If you've visited Carlin Park lately, you've probably noticed the blue building sitting empty at the top of the rise above the beach. The Lazy Loggerhead Cafe — a longtime favorite for Jupiter beachgoers — closed in 2022, and the space has been vacant ever since.

For a while, it looked like Dune Dog would be moving in. But this past spring, Dune Dog and Palm Beach County mutually agreed to terminate their deal. The sticking point: the building needed significant repairs that Dune Dog determined were too costly to take on.

Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation confirmed to WPTV that a new Request for Proposal is being planned for the next several months. The county is also open to a new vendor tearing down the existing building and replacing it entirely. Whoever comes in would also have the option — not the obligation — to manage 10 new sand volleyball courts planned for the park.

In the meantime, the county has been allowing food trucks on a monthly trial basis, including a Dune Dog truck that was on-site in July.

For longtime Jupiter residents, the empty building is a familiar frustration. The Lazy Loggerhead was one of those rare spots where you could grab a meal with an ocean view without paying resort prices. Finding a replacement has taken far longer than anyone expected.