Food with a twang
Country star and reality singing competition personality Blake Shelton is bringing his restaurant Ole Red to Orlando, restaurant and retail writer Kyle Arnold writes.
Country star and reality singing competition personality Blake Shelton is bringing his restaurant Ole Red to Orlando.
Ole Red is slated to open in 2020 at the Icon Orlando 360 complex, the entertainment and dining district that includes the Icon Orlando observation wheel, Sea Life Aquarium and Madame Tussauds wax museum.
The restaurant is a partnership between Shelton and Ryman Hospitality Properties and the companies said the restaurant is a $15 million project.
Ole Red offers “Southern food, hospitality and live country music.” It will be the fourth restaurant for the brand and the online menu shows dishes such as burgers, steaks, ribs, brisket and bison chili, Nashville hot chicken and waffles and fried catfish.
The name for the restaurant comes from a song Shelton covered in 2001 and included on his 2002 selftitled album. It was one of his biggest hits and a favorite at live concerts. The song, originally performed by George Jones, is about a prison bloodhound that pursues escapees.
Shelton is an Oklahomaborn country star that has also been a coach on the NBC reality singing show The Voice since 2011.
Bar Louie in Winter Park
Cocktail lounge and restaurant Bar Louie will
take a marquee location at the Winter Park Village shopping center.
Bar Louie will take the 7,601-square-foot spot formerly occupied by Mitchell’s Fish Market, which closed last year. The location is just across the Regal Cinemas theater.
Bar Louie serves beer, cocktails and a menu of dishes such as burgers, sandwiches, flatbreads, tacos and pasta.
It will be the fourth location in the area for Bar Louie, with a spot near UCF and another near Orlando International Airport and one on International Drive.
The Winter Park location should open in the first quarter of 2019.
“Winter Park Village is a great place for quality shopping, dining and entertainment – and as we prepare to open our newest Florida location, we couldn’t be more thrilled to soon greet our new friends and neighbors at this exciting destination,” said a statement from Paul Zakowski, Director of Operations, Bar Louie.
Mitchell’s Fish Market, the only location in the area, closed in November after a short relationship with owner Landry’s Inc., who bought it in 2014. Before that, it had been owned by Winter Park-based Ruth’s Hospitality, the parent company of Ruth’s Chris, since 2008.
Saltgrass opens
Steakhouse chain Saltgrass opened its first Central Florida location near Disney World last week at 8850 Vineland Avenue in southern Orange County. The chain is a part of the Landry’s Inc. company.
Furniture store
Furniture chain Summer Classics is opening a new showroom in Winter Park in the spring. The Pelham, Ala.-based company manufacturers the Summer Classics outdoor and Gabby indoor furniture brands. The 5,000-square-foot store will be at 620 Fairbanks Ave.