PFT Media

TRANSCRIPT: The Daily City has confirmed directly with owner Lou Palo he’s opening up Stasio’s Italian Deli and Market in the front window space of the building at the corner of Robinson & Bumby in the milk district.The expected opening time frame is March/April. The deli will offer Sandwiches made to order on homemade bread, Full espresso bar, handmade Pizza and Breakfast sandwiches and hot breakfasts. The market space with shelving will be stocked with products imported from Italy like olive oils, balsamic vinegars, prosciutto, Pasta from Italy, seasonings, snacks, and bottles of wine.

Maitland City Centre is getting a food hall after all! A new food hall hybrid… (what?) is joining this Maitland project after the Grandstaff/Ashy/Bonomo/Miller team yanked their Spindrift Food Hall concept last year from the 6,756 sq ft space due to “too many new (restaurant) projects hitting the (Maitland) market at the same time.” Ahem. What?

The Maitland City Centre Market food hall hybrid project consists of 5 individual food stall bays ranging from 550-632 sq ft. Each stall will have its own glass garage door w/separate entrance door and individual restrooms.

Each stall will have its own outside seating area linked to their neighbor to allow for patrons to easily dine, drink and experience the various concepts in an open format.

Tenants will sign 3-5 year leases with rates starting at $2500 a month. They’re looking for businesses that love the idea of a food hall but want the ability to open and close by their own hours, create their own unique spaces and continue to build their individual brands.

Small local food makers interested in getting a spot in this market should contact Willow Shambeck (willow@acrefl.com) or Sandi Bargfrede (sandi@acrefl.com).

We have a great interview with Steve Brown, owner of The Glass Knife in Winter Park at 276 S. Orlando Ave (MAP) on the blog. Here’s a snippet but be sure to go read the full story.

Brown chose to make his restaurant 100% cashless. No cash is accepted. Purchases must be made with credit, debit, Apple Pay and Google Pay.

Brown was inspired to go cashless after a trip to New York City. While dining at Danny Meyer’s Daily Provisions, he experienced firsthand their cashless payment system and loved it. He learned the main reasons for Meyer’s installation of the system were safety and guest service. His waiters were traveling home by foot or subway with wads of cash. They were easy targets being that they were still wearing their work uniforms. It tipped thieves off. Also without having to travel back and forth to tables and cash registers, waiters had more time to serve guests.

Brown is seeing the improved guest service with this system. In a restaurant with a standard payment system, the register can only be operated by one employee. With the cashless system, any employee in the restaurant can take orders and receive payment. This speeds up the guests’ wait times and leads to more free time for employees to take care of guests. Also, it eliminates the over/under moment at the end of the night for employees using the register that occurs at normal restaurants. There’s no chance an employee can be over or under his cash amount with a cashless system. Everyone is accountable because it’s all on record.

As for safety, there are no waiters with wads of cash in their pockets leaving the restaurant.The bakers working overnight are not working in a building full of cash. The building itself never has cash in it. Everyone is safer.

And finally, some quick hits:

Chela Tequila and Tacos‘ has a January 23rd opening date in the former KASA space in downtown Orlando. What I am excited about most is their Taco Tuesday deal: all you can eat tacos for fifteten bucks. We stopped by there and the employees are working tirelessy. Window clings have gone up, furniture’s been turned on its side and new metal multi-colored chairs were spotted this week by The Daily City.

The SODO District location of Gringos Locos at 517 E. Michigan Street is now open. The exterior has has 2 new temporary signs, a yellow paint job with faux brick accents and a freshly tarred parking lot.

Leguminati announced Tuesday January 9th they’re making a second attempt at opening their first brick & mortar location. This will be a partnership with Foxtail Coffee inside the Hourglass Market in the Hourglass District. Plans call for an opening in the first quarter of 2018. Leguminati will offer plant-based breakfast, lunch, and dinner options seven days a week at this location. Their menu will include everything from CrunchMacs to Breakfast Sandwiches.