TV Restaurants

What Happened to Leon's at Lake Ella After Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives?

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Season 40 Tallahassee, Florida

Current status

Closed

As of October 2026, Leon's at Lake Ella has closed — confirmed via wtxl.com, December 2025.

What the source shows: WTXL reported in December 2025 that owner Leon Brunson announced the likely end of the restaurant due to financial strain, and Yelp's August 2026 listing marks the business closed, while the restaurant's own site still describes it as temporarily closed. How we decide a status →

What happened after Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives?

On "World Tour of Flavor" (aired 2025-02-14), Guy Fieri visited Leon's at Lake Ella, a dessert-focused restaurant run by Chef Leon Brunson in Tallahassee's Midtown neighborhood, near Lake Ella at 1611 N Monroe St. According to WTXL, in December 2025 Brunson posted on Facebook that, after financial strain from startup costs, equipment failures, and plumbing issues, that weekend would likely be his last operating the restaurant. Yelp's listing for the business, updated August 2026, marks it closed. The restaurant's website, leonstallahassee.com, still displays a banner stating the restaurant is "temporarily closed" and will "reopen soon," and the located website (leoncbrunson.com) now promotes Brunson's separate private-chef and catering business rather than continuing to operate the original dessert-focused restaurant concept at that Lake Ella address.

The episode Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Season 40

Aired
Title: World Tour of Flavor · What was featured: dessert menu at a Midtown Tallahassee restaurant near Lake Ella
How Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives restaurants have fared: 27% closed →

Also in Season 40 Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives

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Before you go: Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the restaurant — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.

Sources we checked 3 references

  1. wtxl.com https://www.wtxl.com/midtown%20staple%20could%20close%20this%20weekend%20following%20years%20in%20tallahassee
  2. Yelp https://www.yelp.com/biz/leons-at-lake-ella-tallahassee
  3. leoncbrunson.com http://leoncbrunson.com/
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Record ddd-1519 · checked by Cal Marchetti.