Pepe’s Cantina has closed its downtown Orlando location leaving only the original in Winter Park and another location in Clermont. Pepe’s occupied a small space in Church Street Station that previously had been home to Mary’s Side Bar Cafe, a companion to the popular Hamburger Mary’s next door; Church Street Tavern; and the Dessert Lady. Pepe’s opened in Winter Park in 2015 and in downtown Orlando in 2017, the same year it won the Foodster Award for Best Tex-Mex.
While we’re in downtown, word comes that the space vacated by Market on Magnolia last year will become Corner Pizza Bar sometime this summer.
Taste of Chengdu, the popular Colonial Drive Sichuan restaurant that opened a second location in Baldwin Park last year, has closed the newer location. Technically, it is “on vacation” until August, but when it returns it will be as a different concept. Same owners. No, don’t know why. Maybe Baldwin Parkers can’t stand the heat?
Another Asian restaurant, Chanke, will open a food stall in Mei’s Supermarket. It will feature braised chicken – and you thought we’d get through an edition of Newsy Nuggets without announcing a new chicken restaurant.
Reading Between the Wines, the fundraising event for Adult Literacy League, will return this year after taking a pandemic break, but it will be a virtual event. It will be broadcast live from Full Sail University – Go [name of Full Sail mascot] – Thursday, Oct. 14 at 6 p.m.
Want wine now? The Capital Grille is once again offering its Generous Pour promotion. But dinner, pay an extra 28 bucks and you can try as many wines as you’d like from a special collection of seven labels.
Want more than wine? Smaller restaurants in Orlando’s Main Street districts will soon be able to offer cocktails. HB1647 is basically an extension of a bill signed into law in 2018 that designated a downtown Orlando dining district and allowed restaurants within that boundary that did not meet the usual liquor license minimum requirement (150 seats, 2500 square feet) to qualify for an exemption if they had at least 80 seats and 1800 square feet. The Main Street districts include Audubon Park; Church Street; College Park; SoDo; Gateway Orlando (near MCO); Ivanhoe Village; Mills 50; the Milk District; Thornton Park; and Curry Ford West. Businesses within those districts must realize at least 51 percent of their income from food sales to qualify as a restaurant.
