These Orlando restaurants range from sweet doughnuts and cupcakes to entrees straight from the family’s recipe book, and they all have one thing in common – they’re owned by women. In a male-dominated industry, these Orlando women are showing what they can do in the culinary world, and they’re pretty damn good at it.
Buttermilk Bakery
1198 Orange Ave., Winter Park, 407-757-0346
Buttermilk Bakery is a family-owned spot that was launched by Taissa Rebroff with her mother and brother. After attending UCF and then heading up to New York, this young writer got a job at a bakery and eventually decided to bring what she learned back to Central Florida. Buttermilk has menus for anyone looking for a small meal or an aid to a sweet tooth craving.
Photo via Rob BartlettDaJen Eats Cafe & Creamery
4845 N. Orange Blossom Trail, 407-300-0612
DaJen Eats Cafe & Creamery is a Jamaican vegan-styled restaurant known for their “Irie Cream,” which is a dairy-free ice cream. Chef-owner Jenn Ross left Jamaica and came to America at 16 years old, developed an appreciation for cooking and embarked on a vegan lifestyle.
Photo via DaJen Eats/FacebookFlorida & Co. Market & Eatery
3201 Corrine Drive, 407-790-7758
Florida & Co. Market & Eatery offers hyperlocal meats, seafood and vegetables that are cooked with care. Chef-owner and Audubon Park native Emily Rankin created and supports interest in local food through her relationships with farmers.
Photo via Rob Bartlett Credit: Photo by Rob BartlettInfusion Tea
1600 Edgewater Drive, 407-999-5255
Christina Cowherd got the idea for Infusion Tea while serving in the Peace Corps in Guatemala with her husband, Brad. Infusion Tea offers handpicked and organically sourced teas from around the world.
Photo via weekendwarriororlando/InstagramJillycakes
125 N. Orlando Ave., Winter Park, 863-797-4233
Food Network “Cupcake Wars” winner Jillian Hopke elevates cupcakes to a gourmet level with her shop Jillycakes in Winter Park. From Florida classics like Key lime pie to savory offerings like Thanksgiving Dinner, her tasty treats are sure to leave you reminiscing.
Photo via Jillycakes/FacebookLa Femme Du Fromage
3201 Corrine Drive, 407-571-9947
La Femme Du Fromage brings artisanal cheese from around the world and the United States to Central Florida. Owner Tonda Corrente, featured on the Cooking Channel show “Emeril’s Florida,” has a passion for culinary imagination and education that reaches audiences beyond the East End Market in Audubon Park.
Photo via Le Femme Du Fromage/FacebookMaraya at Sabrina’s Restaurant
8100 Crystal Clear Ln, 407-856-8155
Chef-owner Violette Haddad grew up in a small village in the southern part of Lebanon where she learned how to cook under the guidance of her mother and grandmother. She opened Maraya’s bringing an authentic taste of Mediterranean food to Central Florida through her falafel and kibbeh.
Photo via Rob BartlettThe Meatball Stoppe
7325 Lake Underhill Road, 407-270-6505
This family Italian restaurant is co-owned by wife and mother Isabella Morgia di Vicari, who is a first-generation American born in Brooklyn. The Meatball Stoppe was featured on Guy Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” for their one-of-a-kind Nonna’s meatballs.
Photo via becominglocal/InstagramNew Moon Market
2314 Edgewater Drive, 407-440-8147
This family-owned juice company was founded by Jennifer Moon, who has a passion for wellness. New Moon Market offers organic and locally sourced fruits and vegetable that include your daily nutrients for any refreshing break during your day.
Photo via Rob BartlettPeperoncino
7988 Via Dellagio Way, 407-440-2856
Peperoncino serves authentic Southern Italian food right here in Central Florida with recipes straight from chef-owner Barbara Alfano’s grandmothers. The restaurant also offers handcrafted pizza and Italian beer, and a menu with a family in mind.
Photo via Rob BartlettPom Pom’s Teahouse & Sandwicheria
67 N. Bumby Ave., 407-894-0865
The restaurant named after its owner, Pom Moongauklang, is an interesting take on a sandwich shop. Pom was born and raised in Thailand and is known for her creative overstuffed sandwiches and tea blends.
Photo via sammisqueakk/InstagramThe Rusty Spoon
55 W Church St., 407-401-8811
Kathleen Blake, a multiple-time semi-finalist for the Beard Foundation Awards in the Best Chef: South category, is the owner of the Rusty Spoon, where she’s serving up rustic food sourced mostly from local farms, in a room with a new-age farmhouse feel.
Photo via Rob BartlettThe Sanctum Cafe
715 N. Fern Creek Ave., 407-757-0346
Self-taught chef Chelsie Savage started off her culinary journey traveling around the country, and along the way she learned how to perfect plant-based food that even meat-lovers have come to enjoy. Sanctum has become a local hotspot for creative vegetarian and vegan cuisine.
Photo via Rob BartlettQuickly Boba & Snow
Multiple Locations, 407-270-4570
Quickly Boba & Snow offers a variety of boba tea, shaved snow, fruit slushies and milk slushies to accompany any dish, like owner Kimberly Bui’s famous macarons.
Photo via fifingles/InstagramSe7en Bites
617 Primrose Drive, 407-203-0727
The lime-green restaurant had Guy Fieri stop through for his show on Food Network’s “Drive-Ins, and Dives” and for good reason. Chef-owner Trina Gregory-Propst is serving up pastries and egg benedicts on a silver platter, literally. After a slight detour from her 21 years in the spa industry, she and her wife found a passion in all things sweet.
Photo via Rob BartlettSwede Dish Food Truck
Various locations, 407-619-9713
Swede Dish food truck is a play on words – the husband-wife duo’s food truck serves traditional Swedish cuisine. Viveca Averstedt is the mastermind behind the food and gourmet burgers, such as their most popular: the Ragnarök.
Photo via Swede Dish/InstagramTrevi Pasta
2120 Edgewater Drive, 407-985-2577
Father-daughter team Angelo and Vanessa Falcone opened Trevi Pasta with a creative flair for pasta and traditional dishes. Their pasta is made fresh daily and ranges from simple to infused with flavors such as red wine and spicy bloody mary.
Photo via Rob BartlettTamale & Co. Mexican Street Food
1006 E. Altamonte Drive, Altamonte Springs, 407-455-1580
Jennifer and husband Fernando Tamayo originally started on their food journey in a truck at local farmers markets. Now with a takeout location as well as the truck, the duo offer a unique twist on traditional Mexican food. Top off your tamales with various sauces and grab some elotes as a side dish for an on-the-go meal.
Photo via Tamale & Co. Mexican Street Food/InstagramValkyrie Donuts
12226 Corporate Blvd.
Valkyrie isn’t your neighborhood Krispy Kreme. This doughnut shop (sister location to Valhalla Bakery) has the essence of girl power written all over it, with its signature square doughnuts topped with pink frosting and sprinkles. Baker-owner Celine Duvoisin is one tough cookie, or, well, doughnut.
Photo via Rob BartlettSweet by Holly
711 N. Alafaya Trail, 407-277-7746
With a variety of treats, Sweet by Holly delivers customers a range of cupcakes and specialty sweets to choose from. Miss Holly, a nickname for owner Hollis Wilder, sparked the attention of viewers after appearing on and winning Food Network’s “Cupcake Wars.”
Photo via Sweet By Holly/Facebook
