An inquiry has been made with Orlando’s Zoning office regarding the possibility of opening a brewery in the former Fiat dealership at 131 N. Orange Avenue [GMap].
The applicant had originally filed for a variance of 82 feet to sell alcohol within 118 feet from a church, but has since decided to apply for a Zoning Official’s Determination instead.
The operating project name is 131 N Orange Brewery.
definitely is not ready. Downtown can not support that sort of retail when you have one of the best performing malls in the nation located less than 7 miles away. Eventually downtown will be upgrade its restaurants and bars. Retail will be mom and pop shops, yoga studios, etc at best
Stop thinking, people. Thinking is very un-American.
Can we stop with the breweries?
I would rather have my FIAT dealership back. I’m still pissed about this.
YES YES YES!! But it should be Orlando Brewery
Stephen Cagnina I’m sure people say the same about Downtown Chicago, but they seem to thrive with retail shops up and the down the magnificent mile. There is NO place considered safe buddy. People are silly to let their guard down.
The ordinance about alcohol not being within a certain distance of a church is pretty BS.
Oh and I’m agreeing with Tre Mark Harris
I live downtown but it’s not the safest place to walk around, even during the day. That is a big part of the problem.
I agree. It’s seems all Orlando has anymore is businesses and bars. I would leave to see more art and culture. Boutiques, something. It’s rather Boring downtown. Eat something, or drink. That’s it. You have to leave downtown to find more museums etc.
Uh! Sucks they closed the dealership. That’s where I took my Fiat for maintenance ☹️
Church street used to be a mall. Victoria secret and other national retailers but with urban sprawl and not enough people living in the area it can’t be justified but it will come back with time.
Samuel Sinclair West I agree. But I don’t think a super specialized store (and expensive) is the right place to start. Hopefully the new Walgreens can help.
i think we are ready. We need to start some where and see what it goes. Otherwise it will just be a dream away. We need another reason for people to go downtown other than drinking lol. Lately, I’ve seen more people walking downtown within the pass year. Certainly a whole lot more than when I was growing up here.
But who would go there? We haven’t hit that critical mass downtown at this point where people will keep a place like that in business. Once more people move downtown or are willing to go somewhere other than their local mall to shop, then maybe we will see these businesses opening up shop.
I wouldn’t consider this “more of the same” for downtown. There are absolutely zero breweries in downtown Orlando so this is a welcomed addition that can (and hopefully will) add something new to downtown Orlando’s offerings.
Make it so Mark A. Lark!
But for some reason I’m the bad guy for suggesting something otherwise, and labeled as “angry”. How about I’m just a passionate concerned Orlando resident that wants to see better.
Enough with the barlando concepts. So much ish is designed to keep people numb & dumb. How about more art galleries, education/entrepreneurial programs for all ages, healthier food, martial arts, non smoking arcade center, puppet shows, places for murals & installations, guerrilla gardens, juice bars, affordable home & business in the same location or building, rehabilitate and actually cure the homeless …..there’s so much more that can be done than to have another place that serves alcohol….. Just saying
I want Fields Fiat back!!
And my comments have no malicious intent. I love bungalower, these are just honest opinions.
Yes, cultural homogeneity is enthralling. Plateaus are welcoming. Stay relevant Bungalower.
It’s definitely a gateway property for downtown.
Keep on keepin’ on Bungalower! More breweries will have a great economic impact on Orlando and is totally relevant to your followers.
No snark Mark Lark.
I mean, You can welcome constructive, non-malevolent criticism or continue to be snarky about it.
haha well it seems like you’re a little excited.
“It’s too early to get excited” Issues us some pretense that you are indeed interested in more of the same experience downtown. I can’t tell you how many articles I’ve seen from you all with “Beer this, brew that, blah blah, let’s get excited.” Are there not any other compelling or interesting developments happening in this city?
I mean, Bungalower is more so reportage rather than journalism, I understand, but if you’re going to give your opinion on things, maybe they should be a bit more researched. Why be excited for more of the same? Have you thought about what other spacial praxis can add balance and energy to downtown? Or because breweries are “in”, we should be excited about it?
Like that post about proposing floating bartender things in Lake Eola was so cringeworthy and problematic for a multitude of reasons.
I don’t know, You asked us what we think, and these are my thoughts.
To those wanting retail. Retail follows people. You will never get a Crate & Barrel or other big retailer until there are enough people actually staying downtown past 5pm. You have to first make downtown a place people LIVE rather than visit. Case in point…the movie theatre is almost never busy, and restaurants struggle to survive.
What are we parroting Mark A. Lark? We’re just serving up the facts on new businesses and developments.
I love bungalower, I really do, but you guys are starting to parrot the same old tired concepts.
There are plenty of places to grab a beer, or drink, or eat downtown. How about somewhere to shop now. I live 20 mins from Downtown, and would love to avoid Millennia Mall, where it’s too crowded, or Winter Park, where it’s too far and a hassle to get to.
Crate and Barrel would be a great place.
No. We need more retail downtown.
Would be great to see some retail places downtown.
Love it! More Craft Breweries? Yes please. Lets turn Orlando into a brew-city!
A place to drink downtown? What a great idea!