Tampa Chick-fil-A pauses holiday lights tradition

For local families, the holiday season doesn't officially begin until the lights go up at the Chick-fil-A on Waters Avenue in Tampa. But this year, sadly, that massive light display will not be happening. Fox 13's Ariel Placencia joins us live from the restaurant this evening. So, Ariel, have customers heard the news yet? And why aren't these lights going up? Yeah, Allie, so some already had, but others didn't. And so it was a little sad to have to break the news to a few regulars here at the Chick-fil-A on Waters Avenue. And while they're certainly bummed, they're definitely bummed but they're not going to be able to see those lights this year, they definitely understand why. I just now looked it up because I didn't see anybody out there decorating. Christmas is still over two months away, but customers at the Chick-fil-A on Waters Avenue in Tampa have noticed something's been missing. And the reason I wonder, because I was here one time eating in about September, and I saw a guy outside working. I'm like, what is this guy doing? I realized he was putting up the lights. But unfortunately... Did you hear about the bad news, though? No, what's the bad news? Are they not doing... This is what customers are used to seeing during the holiday season. Nearly one million light bulbs, Christmas songs, and fun displays. It's a tradition that owner-operator Jason Dittman built from humble roots back in 1997. We started with just a little tree and some garland down the side of the building, and they've added each year, each year, each year. We've covered this incredible operation over the years, and in past interviews, Dittman told us it's always been a family affair, that his father and his sons often start decorating as early as August. Every year, you drive through, we get milkshakes, because there's a lot of kids to buy for, and just enjoy the snow as you go through the tunnel and stuff. It's great. But this year, the outside of the building will stay dark. In a statement, Dittman told Fox 13 that his family's immediate focus has now turned toward supporting his father's health, and that because this was entirely a personal family endeavor from the ground up, we've made the thoughtful decision to step back and prioritize our time together. No, I understand if he's, you know, there's medical issues with his father because I lost my father a couple years ago, so I can see why family would come first. While customers will miss the magic this winter, they wish the Dittman family the very best. It's really sad, so I hope they get better and something else comes about to where they're able to continue to do it maybe at a later date. And since the announcement was made so many people have been reaching out offering their time and their money to try to make the lights happen this year but as you heard Jason Dittman point out you know this has been a family project since day one and he says this really isn't something that you can coordinate with volunteers and so Allie he just says that they're very grateful for the love and the support the community has shown them since the announcement. Yeah we kind of had a feeling the community would step up in that way. But I guess if he does it a certain way, he'd probably have to be involved, even if other people were trying to help. All right, Ariel, thank you.