Orlando Opinions Podcast Episode 8 - "Dead Wendy's"



The Daily City's podcast "Orlando Opinions" shares the week's most popular stories from the blog in a quick 5-10 minute format. LISTEN HERE

Script: 

[STORY] A plant based delicatessen by Chef Mary Mattern & Neil Westfall called Heirloom Deli will be opening in Orlando April 2018. The product lineup will include Chickpea Salad Sandwiches, Crispy Chicken Fried Cauliflower, meatball subs and more. No location has been announced. The Daily City is always excited to hear about new women-owned businesses coming to Orlando. More! More!



[STORY
Central Florida is receiving a $5 million dollar grant from JP Morgan Chase specifically purposed for low income housing funding in the Orlando region. A portion of it is going towards Crisis Housing Solutions’ shipping container home project. There will be two sites for this project, both to be announced by the end of the year.

Crisis Housing Solutions provides temporary & permanent housing support services for those made homeless, or in danger of becoming homeless, due to natural, manmade or economic disasters.

Crisis Housing Solutions already received a $450,000 grant to develop the nation’s first high-density multifamily rental complex using repurposed shipping containers right here in Central Florida.

CHS says it will cost an estimated $5 million to build the 50-home shipping container-based community. I think it's a far fetched idea because Orlando has not shown an ounce of out of the box thinking and this I hope, if it even happens, will be a catalyst for more creatively-based solutions addressing our community's needs.



[STORY] The dead Wendys at 1115 West Colonial is for sale for $1.6 million. It's located at the very busy W. Colonial Drive & Orange Blossom Trail intersection. It's got a large parking lot, Wawa is across the intersection and a Duncan Donuts retail center has been in the works since Jaunary 2016 for the property across the street. It's a dirty filthy gem ready for rescue! 



[STORY] Orlando isn't getting it. No one in the world is getting it... except Finland. The first vegan burger from McDonalds, the McVegan, is being tested in Finland and once the testing is over November 21, McDonalds has no plans of bring it anywhere else according to Today. However according to Treehugger, they're going to see how the product sold in Finland and if it makes sense to roll it out to other markets.

But never mind all of that McVegan nonsense. Orlando already has a huge vegan and vegetarian restaurant scene and I'm guessing they all have a great veggie burger! They include...
  1. Market on South 
  2. Dandelion Communitea Café
  3. The Sanctum Cafe 
  4. Ethos Vegan Kitchen 
  5. Loving Hut 
  6. Woodlands
  7. Green Kitchen 
  8. Drunken Monkey Coffee Bar
  9. Bikes, Beans & Bordeaux 
  10. Infusion Tea 
  11. The Vegan Hot Dog Cart


[STORYIt's never been as cool-kid as Milk District circa 2009, as rich-lady as Audubon District and as taco-restaurant-laden as Mills50. But watch out: the SODO district is having a moment!

Foxtail Coffee is coming to SODO! You've probably visited the stylized waiting-to-be-franchised local-for-now coffee bar/brand/lifestyle curator in Dovecote Sassy Brassateria downtown or their flagship store next to the palm tree garden in Winter Park. They've also got one opening in the raise-our-property-values-already Hourglass District and another one coming in Altamonte Springs with a drive thru.

The SODO Foxtail is opening on the site that currently houses Mama B's Giant Subs and a lot of contaminated soil at 1101 South Orange Avenue (MAP). The property is the site of a former gas station. This means the soil is contaminated. The property owners wish to clean up the soil prior to development of the new restaurant. 

Snagging this coffee brand is just one of the hot SODO dumps pumped from popular brands recently. Fresh Kitchen is opening in the failed Noodles & Co and Luckys Market will be part of the mega-block mixed use project Southside Shoppes. And speaking of Luckys the grocery chain will be on a tear soon flopping out 3 other locations all over Central Florida.