OPENINGS & CLOSINGS:
Ô Bon Chocolatier, from the folks behind Light on the Sugar, will open this spring inside East End Market, taking the space previously occupied by Mochi Dochi and Olde Hearth Bread Co. Expect hand-crafted artisanal sweets and bonbons … Black Phin Coffee Bar, specializing in Vietnamese phin-drip coffee using robusta beans, has opened inside the old Lombardi’s Seafood building at 1152 Harmon Ave. in Winter Park … Also in Winter Park (though not the 32789), Somo T, offering everything from phin-brewed coffee to milk and fruit teas and bánh mìs, has opened at 6760 Aloma Ave. in Winter Park … Over in Kissimmee, Xing Fu Tang, a Taiwanese multinational boba chain, has opened at 2673 W. Osceola Parkway at The Loop in Kissimmee. Patrons can watch boba pearls being made in front of them.
Grappolo Cucina Italiana will open in the space previously occupied by Farm & Haus at 526 S. Park Ave. in Winter Park later this month. Touted as (cough) “London’s favorite Italian restaurant,” Grappolo is promising “fresh pasta made daily from scratch” and, presumably, a good wine list (grappolo means “bunch” in Italian). The owners run a seemingly well-received restaurant in Surrey (not London) called La Meridiana … Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks, the Atlanta-based sandwich chain offering a variety of Philly-style handhelds, has opened at Oviedo on the Park at 441 E. Mitchell Hammock Road. Another location in SoDo will open later this year in the old Bao’s Castle space at 45 W. Crystal Lake St. in the Target plaza … Look for Moa Kai Hawaiian Diner to move into the old Mongolorian space at 2217 E. Colonial Drive in Mills 50 this June. The full-service restaurant by Hoi Nguyen (Poke Hana, Chi-Kin) will also offer cocktails, and will serve everything from saimin noodle soups to Spam musubi to loco moco.
NEWS & EVENTS:
Buttermilk Bakery will host cookbook author Zaynab Issa Wednesday, April 16, to sign copies of her book, Third Culture Cooking. The Winter Park bakery and the author are also collaborating on a special pastry box that will include four sweet and savory creations, as well as a copy of the book, all for $65. Visit zaynabissa.com or buttermilk-bakery.com for more … Congrats go out to Jason & Sue Chin of Good Salt Restaurant Group (Seito Sushi, The Osprey, Reyes Mezcaleria, The Monroe) for being named James Beard Award finalists for Outstanding Restaurateur, and to Ômo by Jônt for being named a finalist for Best New Restaurant. Winners will be announced June 16 in Chicago.
Subscribe to Orlando Weekly newsletters.
Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Bluesky | Or sign up for our RSS Feed
This article appears in The 420 Issue 2025.
