Wawa, White Castle on the way

First came White Castle, and soon there will be a Portillo’s. Next year, the same part of Orlando will get a Wawa, another mainstay business from the North.

Construction is estimated to begin in the first quarter of next year at 7785 Palm Parkway on the new Wawa store, according to spokesman Lori Bruce. Wawa stores are usually 4,600 to 5,200 square feet and employ 30 to 40 people.

The first White Castle in Florida since the 1960s set a single-day sales record for the chain when it opened earlier this month in Unicorp National Developments’ Village at O-Town West near Walt Disney World.

Portillo’s is expected to start serving its Chicago-style hot dogs and Italian beef sandwiches in its first Orlando restaurant in the same development on June 15.

A brochure from Unicorp shows the Wawa store at Palm Parkway and Daryl Carter Parkway, close to both the White Castle and Portillo’s.

Marriott Vacations Worldwide also is slated to move its corporate headquarters to a new building in the O-Town West project.

‘Filet mignon sandwich’ restaurant opens

A restaurant that serves a “filet mignon sandwich” has opened in the Doctor Phillips neighborhood.

Founded outside Philadelphia in 2018, Nick Filet opened its first Central Florida location at 7600 Dr. Phillips Blvd. in a 1,900-square-foot space.

The fast-casual restaurant’s menu is known for its filet mignon sandwich on a toasted Amoroso Kaiser roll. The sandwiches can be built to order with melted cheese and toppings such as mushrooms, horseradish and steak sauce.

Winter Garden residents Tracy and Frank Barone, friends of the founders, Keith and Nick Kline, will own and operate the Orlando restaurant. A corporate-owned location in Orlando is also in the works, a news release said.

MidiCi closes Maitland restaurant

MidiCi The Neapolitan Pizza Company has closed its last Orlando-area restaurant.

The restaurant, at 171 S. Orlando Ave. in Maitland, posted on Facebook about its “grand closing.”

“Thank you to our amazing staff, wonderful friends & family and loyal customers for being a part of Midici for the last 2+ years,” the post said.

The chain opened at Maitland City Centre in 2019. It had restaurants in Kissimmee and Daytona Beach, but now the only Florida restaurant listed on the company’s website is in Gainesville.

It is just the latest restaurant to close after the onset of the pandemic last year.

The National Restaurant Association said by Dec. 1, more than 110,000 had closed temporarily or for good.