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Newsy Nuggets: Brazas Chicken, Cookies & Cream, drive-thru burritos and more

Written By Scott Joseph On May 18, 2022

Brazas logo

Brazas Chicken, the SoDo restaurant that recently opened a second location in the Marketplace at Avalon Park, is moving to a larger space, in Avalon Park’s Downtown II building. Brazas originally opened in 2006 in what was then known as the Fort Gatlin Shopping Center. That complex is now home to Gatlin Hall Brewing, Frenchie’s Wood-fired Pizza, Willy’s Original, Buttercrust Pizza, The Porch South Orange and most recently That Wing Spot.

Brazas Chicken’s owner, Franco Del Solar, lives in Avalon Park and was one of the opening vendors of the Marketplace. He’ll move his popular Peruvian poultry to the new space, with 1,769 square feet, next month.

South Steel SJO March AD copy

CookiescreamTaco twosome Ryan Manning (MX Taco) and Rob Bair (Tin & Taco) are teaming up for a new venture called Cookies & Cream, dispensing soft-serve ice cream, shaved ice, pineapple Dole whip and house-made cookies. The first location will be at Orange County Brewers in Lake Mary in a shared space with Tin & Taco, opening Memorial Day weekend. Other locations planned for SoDo and New Smyrna Beach.

Josh Oakley has left his post at The Monroe in downtown Orlando’s Creative Village to become the executive chef for a hospital in North Carolina. Quite a departure in more ways than one. Before opening the Monroe last year, Oakley was at 1921 Mount Dora and was one of the founders of the Smiling Bison.

Taipei 101 has been 86’d.

Chipotle Mexican Grill has opened a location in Casselberry with a drive-thru Chipotlane. I pictured a really long driveway where a car could move along slowly and tell the burrito maker what ingredients to put in. But no, it’s just a pick-up lane for digitally-placed orders. That’s no fun.

I’m not sure a “boozy Mad Hatter tea party” would be much fun, either, but one is headed this way. It’s actually called The Alice: An Immersive Cocktail Experience that a press release would like us to believe has been selling out in Sydney and Melbourne (the one in Australia) and is beginning a U.S. tour. And along with Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Denver, Orlando is on the stop list. It will plop down at the Oliv Bar in downtown Orlando from June 29 through Aug. 10. It will be all Alice In Wonderland-themed, with costumed characters and cocktails poured out of a teapot. I’m guessing you’ll hear “eat me” a lot as the evening goes on.

And Corner Cafe, the Sanford restaurant that suspended regular hours at the beginning of the year to focus on catering, will begin opening one day of the week for what’s being billed as French Onion Fridays. you can get a pressed sandwich and a bowl of soup. Although according to a post on the cafe’s Facebook page, it doesn’t have to be French onion, it could be one of the restaurant’s other soups. At this point, I’m not even sure it will be on Fridays.

Curiouser and curiouser.

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