Sixty Vines coming to former Kona Grill spot
A restaurant offering wine on tap and dishes inspired by the wines of Napa Valley is set to take over the Winter Park space that formerly housed Kona Grill.
Sixty Vines, which has other locations in Texas, plans to open its first Florida restaurant in spring 2020 in an 8,000-square-foot space at 110 Orlando Ave., #12, Winter Park. That space in the Lakeside Crossing development previously housed Pan-Pacific restaurant chain Kona Grill, which closed earlier this year after opening in November 2016.
The seasonal menu at the restaurant’s Dallas location includes pasta dishes such as tonnarelli — which features coconut and cilantro-infused noodles, Gulf shrimp, spinach, basil, black pepper and pecorino Romano — as well as rib pork and Scottish salmon. The menu also includes burgers, pizzas, soups and salads. The Winter Park location will serve lunch, dinner and weekend brunch.
The restaurant’s wine-ontap program serves guests individual glasses of wine using pressurized steel kegs instead of bottles.
The Winter Park location will include private dining areas and an enclosed, greenhouse patio with a wine garden experience and full bar.
“We think Sixty Vines will be a perfect addition to the
growing restaurant scene in the Orlando/Winter Park area,” Steve Shlemon, CEO of Sixty Vines’ operator Whiskey Cake Holdings, said in a news release. “In addition to introducing guests to our seasonal menu, we think they’ll also enjoy our unique wine program, which is different than anywhere else in the market.”
Vera Asian joins Orlando’s Creative Village
A restaurant with a “sushi robot” is on board to join a mixed-use, student-housing building across from the University of Central Florida and Valencia College’s developing downtown campus.
That robot will prepare rice at Vera Asian, which has signed a lease for a 1,800-square-foot space on the ground floor of the 15-story building dubbed UnionWest, according to a news release. The building is slated to open in late August at Terry Avenue and Livingston Street in the 68-acre Creative Village, and the restaurant is pushing to open for the fall semester this year.
The campus is being developed in the area of the former Amway Arena and will be on 15 acres bordered by Livingston Street to the north, the train tracks to the south, Parramore Avenue to the west and Hughey Avenue to the east.
In addition to sushi, Vera Asian will serve up made-to-order wok dishes as well as breakfast items and grab-and-go items. In business since 2014, it is based in Longwood and has a Lake Mary location.
The UnionWest building is expected to house 640 students and will have 105,000 square feet of space leased to UCF and Valencia. Valencia’s culinary institute, the Walt Disney Center for Culinary Arts and Hospitality, will be relocated to the building.
Other retail tenants in the building will include Subway, Dunkin’, Qdoba and Addition Financial.
Brother Jimmy’s BBQ coming to Pointe Orlando
A North Carolina-style barbecue restaurant is set to join the menu at Pointe Orlando later this year.
Brother Jimmy’s BBQ is expected to open in November at Pointe Orlando, 9101 International Drive, in a 3,776-square-foot space that formerly housed Adobe Gila’s. The space is on the center’s upper level near the movie theater.
Menu offerings at the restaurant’s West Palm Beach location include Carolina pulled pork, baby back ribs, barbecue sandwiches and Southern fried chicken as well as desserts like banana pudding and fried Oreos.
In addition to the West Palm Beach location, Brother Jimmy’s has restaurants in New York, Connecticut and Maryland. It was founded in 1989.
Brazilian Camelo Pizzaria to debut at Orlando Crossings
A thin-crust pizza restaurant plans to open its first restaurant outside Brazil at Orlando Crossings Mall.
The owners of Camelo Pizzaria announced that Camelo Orlando is expected to open in the first quarter of 2020 in a 4,200-square-foot space at 5451 International Drive. The restaurant and bar, featuring wood-fire ovens, will have seating for up to 160 people.
Pizzas include a calabresa offering with Brazilian pepperoni, onion and black olives as well as a burrata option featuring tomato sauce with Parmesan, burrata cheese and arugula pesto.