As we reported back in early 2022, the popular LGBTQ+ club shut their doors mere hours before New Year’s Eve celebrations were set to begin in 2021. The then-current ownership stated that Stonewall would remained closed until new owners bought them out. And so it sat dormant, the property eventually hitting the sales market in summer 2023.
That period of dormancy will end in the near future, with some big changes afoot. According to reporting by the Orlando Business Journal, the building is set to be taken over by a new management team and revamped as Heatwave.
Heatwave — an ambitious new restaurant concept from a local ownership group of Kevin Varanai, Andrea Dunn and Brandon Wood, per OBJ — will include three interconnected spaces: a café, restaurant and hybrid theater-lounge.
Heatwave’s team has signed a five-year lease for the building and applied for grants from the Community Redevelopment Agency to underwrite their renovation work on the building, which is expected to take a couple of months. They’re expected to receive over $200,000 in full, if their funding request with CRA is approved this week.
The restaurant, according to paperwork filed with the city, states the restaurant will “focus on inclusivity for all, with a focus on the LGBTQ community.”
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This article appears in Jan 22-28, 2025.