Inside South Florida's restaurant closures shake

Can you feel the restaurant churn?

As the heat index surged and tourists left town, the unmistakable signs were everywhere this summer: Longtime mom-and-pops closed shop with little warning on social media, Facebook commenters offered their say-it-ain’t-so outcries, and new eateries eager to backfill vacancies started construction anew.

This season, the churn has felt like a deluge: Across Broward and Palm Beach counties, restaurants that once weathered decades of downturns have closed left and right, blaming a combination of doubled rents, higher labor wages, increased food costs and disagreements with landlords.

For 12 years, the New England-style Rack’s Fish House and Oyster Bar arguably commanded the busiest stretch of real estate in Delray Beach: Southeast Second and Atlantic ave