Call it a spirited restaurant.
“I don’t like to use the word ‘haunted,’” said Ernie Fidanza, owner of The Sims House in Jupiter — a historic property.
He did, however, have the 100-year-old Mission-style house spiritually cleansed before moving in three years ago.
The restaurant, set in a home built in 1924 and owned by the daughter of Jupiter’s first postmistress, had a presence that prevented him from entering when he bought it, he said.
“I didn’t want to go in it. A worker for the city in Jupiter heard me say I bought it sight unseen, and took me aside to tell me about her cousin who could cleanse the house for me. I told her it didn’t need cleaning. Then she explained it was a cleansing of negative energy.”
Fidanza rescued the dilapidated property in 2016, saving it from the wrecking ball with a goal of sharing its history.
“Too much of Jupiter has been demolished. Only a few original houses from the town remain,” he said.
His pursuit of the preservation of the town’s buildings led him to form the Jupiter Historical Society in 2016, which he leads today.
But before taking on all the construction to turn the house into a restaurant, he had to get rid of what he said was “something off” that was blocking him from going inside.
“It didn’t feel right,” he said, after attempting a walk-through. “I had a bad feeling about it.”
Still skeptical about mediums and spirits, he called Michael Verdan, who says he has spirit contacts routinely.
“Since I was a child, I’ve been what I call sensitive. I see shadows and I hear people talking,” Verdan said. As he grew into adulthood, he said, his ability to communicate with the spirit world has grown.
Verdan, who grew up in Joliet, Illinois, said he inherited the sensitivity from his grandmother and others on both sides of his family.
Before The Sims House cleansing, he talked only briefly with Fidanza.
“I don’t want to know any of the history of the property. Nothing, maybe a first name. I want to go in with a clear mind,” Verdan said.
His method is to walk onto the property and then go where he is drawn. “It’s like a magnetic pull,” he said.
He’s drawn to energy, whether active or residual. “Others perceive the energy, but because they don’t understand it or feel it as I do, they automatically think it’s evil.”
Sometimes, he said, the energy appears as a shadow or a form; other times he hears the people and converses with them.
“I have to figure it out, then I know what to do with it. They’re just looking to be understood,” Verdan said.
They know he’s sympathetic, he said, and once the spirit is convinced he’s friendly and means no harm, everything is put right.
“I bring positive energy, and get rid of any negative.”
At Sims, he said he felt the presence of an older gentleman, who wasn’t angry, but was guarding the house — protecting it.
“I told him the new owner was going to take care of it and preserve it.”
That satisfied the spirit, he said, and the negative energy was replaced by positive.
He also had a vision of an older woman with her hair upswept. She moves in and out of the house, he said. “It’s her happy space. She loved this house.”
Though Verdan didn’t get their names, owner Fidanza is sure it was the original owners: Essie Sims, daughter of Jupiter’s first postmistress, and her spouse, Eli.
Now, Fidanza co-exists with Essie’s spirit, “I don’t like to say ghosts.”
His diners have had experiences with her, he said.
“Some people talk about a chill, or have trouble breathing and I know what’s happening,” he said. “I take them outside for a minute, and everything is OK.”
The Sims House still flies under the radar for many. It’s innocuous on Center Street, which no longer is the town’s main drag.
It doesn’t even sport a sign to let passersby know it’s a restaurant.
Fidanza completed the renovation in 2021 to make it a public restaurant. He shares its history — sans spirits — with everyone who dines.
Dining is by reservation only, and there are 69 seats. A large outdoor patio is used for events.
In Eli and Essie’s day, the house was a popular society gathering place, and today it is designated as a locally historic landmark.
An American menu that changes daily is served, with ingredients sourced locally whenever possible. “We get all our produce from Hibiscus Food Market,” Fidanza said. Seafood providers also are from the area.
Francisco Landin, the longtime chef of the former Jupiter favorite, Tabica Grill, is chef.
Along with things like churrasco steak, and local fresh fish, he’ll occasionally pull out a Tabica recipe, Fidanza said. “We had the pork osso buco, and snapper piccata on the menu recently. There’s the seventh-generation meatloaf, always a favorite.”
There’s entertainment a few times a month, with a comedy night on the last Friday of the month, followed Saturday night by a supper club.
The restaurant serves dinner only, Tuesday through Saturday, by reservation only. Prices range from moderate to expensive. No walk-ins accepted. There’s a wait list in season, Fidanza said.
The Sims House Restaurant, 322 Center St., Jupiter, Fla., 33458. Phone 561-431-4336. Find it online here.
This story was originally published by Stet News Palm Beach, a WLRN News partner.
