Winter Park’s new swank dessert house The Glass Knife poised to open in two weeks

If all goes according to plan, the city’s most luxe café/pâtisserie will open in Winter Park in less than two weeks.

The Glass Knife, the brainchild of founder-owner Steve Brown, is a stunning beaut of a pink-walled pastry shop, and we got an exclusive sneak peek into its luxe confines.

Brown, the current CEO of tech company accesso, spared no expense in outfitting his personal “homage to a bygone era” with the finest of furnishings, from the Oscartek display case (complete with rotating cake tower), to the 18-seat community table cut from American walnut, to the 2,100-pound gold-hued light fixture above it.
Immediately noticeable is the terrazzo floor incorporating the Depression-era styling of glass-knife inventor John Didio. The terrazzo’s star-diamond patterns are embedded with chips from crushed glass knives that belonged to Brown’s mother Jacque.
As we stated in our story from May, the Glass Knife will serve “decadent cakes, elegant desserts and other sweet treats” (donuts included) courtesy of executive chef Stuart Whitfield, and will offer a “savory menu for breakfast and lunch, plus a variety of evening items.”
“Our pastries are labor-intensive and use high-quality ingredients,” says Brown. When asked about the cost of such labor-intensive pastries, he says the Glass Knife will set “approachable and repeatable price points.”
Coffee snobs will go gaga over the beans (provided by Onyx Coffee Labs) as well as the pair of tap-style espresso dispensers and the cool pour-over modules by Modbar.
Brown even gives careful thought to the glassware, like blue Picardie tumblers and boldly hued porcelain cups by famed Kiwi kupmaker Acme. Oh, and a “Date Night Booth” will certainly prove popular for couples.
Bathrooms weren’t spared the design grandeur either, plus there’s a very functional wash station situated outside both loos.
As far as the exterior is concerned, a translucent roof will block out the sun’s rays and allow plenty of light to illuminate the 32-seat, pet-friendly patio. A row of plants and ferns, as well as pull-down shades and a sound system, will shield guests from traffic noise on South Orlando Avenue.

Signature Landscape Contractors of Winter Park has been charged with accentuating the scenery which, Brown says, “will go above and beyond expectations.” Look for an English-style garden with roses, hydrangeas and bougainvillea, as well as a few magnolia trees to set the mood.

No doubt when the Glass Knife opens its doors by mid-November, many will give themselves to the dessert house in sweet surrender.

For more, follow the Glass Knife on Facebook, Instagram and on the web.
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This article appears in Oct 25-31, 2017.