Unicorp will build first restaurant of its own
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Orlando-based Unicorp is tackling a completely original upscale restaurant, called Slate, in the Dr. Phillips area.
“It will be very unique, farm-to-table and chef-driven,” said Chuck Whittall, Unicorp president and owner. “It will cater to local residents, but we’ll get tourists also.”
Unicorp has built plenty of restaurants and retail, but Whittall said this is the first time the company is launching its own concept from beginning to end. He said he personally explained the style he wanted to an Atlanta-based design company, The Johnson Studio.
The restaurant is in the Parkside development, where Unicorp is building out a space for the second Trader Joe’s location in the Orlando area. That is set to open sometime in March, after the project gets its certificate of occupancy, set for Feb. 20.
Sketches of the new restaurant show actual slate and stone materials in earth tones for the interior and exterior.
Unicorp is plowing ahead on a bevy of additional projects, which Whittall outlined for the Sentinel in October.
One of those projects includes a new, 347-unit apartment complex in the Horizon West area, which Whittall said is evolving into a “themed” apartment complex called Venetian Isles.
“Nobody’s ever done a themed apartment complex here. It’s near Disney,” Whittall said.
Whittall said he doesn’t see the growth slowing down at least until the next presidential election.
Whittall bought out his business partner to become sole owner of Unicorp in 2007, just as the recession was taking hold. But he said the company was lucky to land large contracts at the time for Walgreens and CVS pharmacies, which were in expansion mode.
“This [Obama] administration is showing no signs of increasing interest rates, as long as we have uncertainty surrounding global issues like Russia and Iraq, so the market for developers seems like it will remain favorable,” Whittall said.