1959
HOW IT ALL STARTED
2025
COOK’S in DeLand is steeped with family heritage and tradition. In 1959, Bob and Willa Cook founded the original Holiday House Restaurant, in a former two story home built in 1901 serving prime steaks, tossed salads and gigantic Idaho baked potatoes. Early on, Bob developed a special buffet style, serving hand carved aged beef, fresh turkey, lamb and ham. To accompany the meat choices were freshly prepared vegetables, salads and homemade desserts. Soon there were 14 Holiday House Restaurants throughout Central Florida. They probably never dreamed of how this simple restaurant in an old house, where the family called home, living upstairs during the 1960’s, would grow into a family tradition and a local chain of restaurants. In 1986, a kitchen fire closed the restaurant for several months allowing Bob to fulfill his dream to completely remodel the old house, including a state of the art kitchen and offices upstairs.
In the meantime, his son Michael, who grew up and worked in the family business, set out on his own to open the popular Cook’s Café in downtown DeLand in 1983. After his father’s passing in 2002, Michael inherited the property and building which housed the Original HolidayHouse. This left Michael with a major decision of what to do with a 122 year old building. After much thought, prayers and family discussions, it was decided to completely remodel the historic building and reopen it as COOK’S. After seven months of remodeling, the task at hand wassimple, to serve good, hearty comfort food, prepared well, with the best and freshest ingredients available. With what he learned from his father and his success in running his businesses, Michael was ready to embrace history once again.
Michael and Star have continued with the family tradition and have groomed their son Michael Cook, Jr. , 3rd Generation, now GeneralManager to become a part of the management team at COOK’S. Michael Jr. has the same passion and enthusiasm for food as his father has andgrandfather did. Star, who passed away in 2019, was also active in the day to day operations of the business, working in the office and beingour “ambassador” with our customers. Even though we are now COOK’S, we will always be Holiday House to our longtime customers. For 64 years, there has been a member of the Cook family cooking in the kitchen, and the tradition lives on.
The restaurant still retains its original charm, but has been brought into the 21st century with the same great taste, but with a modern twist. The buffet’s offerings stay with traditional and new favorites, which include one of the largest salad bars around and makes for a newexperience with every visit. Every item that is used in this restaurant is of the highest quality. We use all fresh vegetables that are in season. The choicest meats and seafood are hand selected and are prepared fresh throughout the day. High standards in food quality are a top prioritywith the Cook family. You can even take a behind the scenes tour of the kitchen if you like, business permitting of course.
Future plans include reopening the Banquet Room upstairs, however, they can accommodate up to sixty people downstairs now. The BanquetRoom also houses part of Michael and Stars’ ever growing cookbook collection that consists of over fifteen hundred volumes. The CarriageHouse at the rear of the restaurant will be remodeled with a new community room for groups and clubs, and a new display kitchen will besetup for culinary schools and local celebrity chefs for demonstration cooking. Michael is also planning to bring back those choice, prime agedsteaks and gigantic Idaho baked potatoes with chive cheese butter in the near future.
Cook’s customer base has grown to include all of central Florida, just like it did in the beginning. History repeats itself, and it seems once again its popularity is blossoming, as one diner tells another. The Cook family invites you to join them for a delightful southern tradition, comfortfood prepared well. Michael’s philosophy is simple, “Food that is time tested and taste perfected” and our motto remains, “Cook’s where memories are made.” WELCOME HOME.
