Orlandosentinel.com - Ryan Smith wasn't spooked by the ghosts of failed restaurants when he opened an upscale sports bar at a Winter Park address where several other eateries have closed.

"I don't believe in cursed locations," said Smith, whose Matilda's on Park sits on the slower end of Park Avenue across from St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church. Before Matilda's, the space churned through five restaurants in a decade.

The site is one of many throughout Central Florida where restaurants have a hard time keeping their doors open. Continue