There is a lot going on in and around the Marketplace at Avalon Park, the food hall the opened last fall in the east Orlando community.

The big news is that the Marketplace now has a full service restaurant called The 1 Cantina, which is softly opening now with a grander opening planned for early May. Billed as an urban cantina, it features traditional as well as contemporary Mexican dishes.

It moves into the space that was originally called the Gathering Kitchen, shown above at the opening in September, and was intended as a private banquet facility. It will have a full bar that will feature tequilas, mezcals and crafted cocktails.

And people eating in the Marketplace’s main food hall will be able to order cocktails from the 1 Cantina to be delivered to their table in the hall. However, the restaurant’s menu will not be available for food hall dining, and food hall food can’t be taken into the sit-down restaurant.

The 1 Cantina’s move into the Gathering Kitchen will not affect the facility’s incubator kitchen, which, I hear, is quite busy these days.

In other Marketplace news, one of the charter food vendors, Pico de Gallo Mexican Grill, has been doing so well that it is moving out of the food hall and into the Clock Tower building at the entrance to Avalon Park. In addition to its menu of Mexican favorites, the new Pico de Gallo will add a Colombian bakery.

Look for that change in July. In the meantime, PdG will continue to operate in the Marketplace.

And don’t expect the Pico de Gallo space to be empty too long. I’m told there are several concepts vying for the chance to become a part of the popular Marketplace.

And after you visit the Marketplace you can check out the new Avalon Park Arts and Culture Center. It’s all in the walkable downtown Avalon Park.