Black Tulip to reopen after destruction spree

COCOA, Fla. -

After a July $100,000-plus vandalism spree wreaked widespread havoc inside the aging Black Tulip, the restaurant has been rebranded and reborn after a comprehensive construction campaign.

Local 6 News partner Florida Today reports that the Tulip Restaurant & Lounge reopened with a new Latin "Floribbean" menu at 4 p.m. Tuesday on Brevard Avenue in Cocoa Village.

"It's overwhelming. I just keep saying, 'It's the restaurant I have dreamed of my entire life,'" said co-owner Tanya Colzani, standing Sunday in her redesigned second dining room.

"Working with my dad (Daniel Colzani) for 22 years and knowing something had to change physically ... it was never going to happen. Never. We talked about it and talked about it, and dreamed. You see all the chain restaurants that have redone themselves in the last year or two," she said.

"Unfortunately, we didn't have that kind of finances," she said.

David Lightholder, of Lightholder Building Contractors, estimated total renovations at $90,000 to $100,000, including landscaping and exterior work.

"We did everything. We took out the ceilings. We took out the floors. We took out the old wood on the walls, the old windows. New windows, new drywall, new insulation, new flooring, all new cabinets, new bar, electrical," Lightholder described.

Lightholder's wife, Holly, owns the home decor business Beautiful Spaces by Holly Marie. She helped oversee the rebuilding process.

"I kind of wanted to go with a Tuscan feel. It's a vision that I had. It's always been a Continental restaurant, and I wanted to change it up a little bit," Holly Lightholder said.

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Black Tulip to reopen after destruction spree