Jump to content

55 West

Tim3167

By Tim3167
in Orlando

 Share

Recommended Posts


  • Replies 1.9k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Popular Posts

camstrang
camstrang

Hey everyone, I'm a near-daily reader of these boards but have posted maybe once in the last 8+ years. I appreciate everyone's passion and insight. I wanted to introduce myself because yesterday

JFW657
JFW657

That along with the vertical stripes...

smileguy
smileguy

I am not altogether mad with the blue color from the front side.  The garage is a different story.   

Posted Images

John Hargrove Hamlet

John Hargrove

Posted
Posted

What is the ground floor retail/restaurant situation looking like? Any photo updates?

Pretty much the same aside from some patio furniture added for Heat. Rusty Spoon is going through build-out.

I'll try to get some pictures soon. I've been slacking really hard (quit my job, started my own business, basically no free time)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
smileguy Burg

smileguy

Posted
Posted (edited)

Wow, if I didn't know any better and saw that first picture I would have guessed it was a snapshot of a Rust Belt city.

I would love to see that view on a sunny day - I bet it would look a little less Rust Belt.

I had dinner at Heat on Saturday. The food was good, and much more reasonably priced than I would have expected ($9-$14 an entrée.) Very spicy, so if that's not your thing, make sure to tell the server. Here are a couple photos I snapped on my phone, not really with the intent of sharing them.

5425684468_5ff41d3778.jpg

5425081619_9c77628234.jpg

Edited by smileguy
Link to comment
Share on other sites
John Hargrove Hamlet

John Hargrove

Posted
Posted

^ Five Guys is great news (well, maybe not for Hamburger Mary's)! This is a good indicator of a national chain recognizing that there is enough foot traffic to sustain walk-in retail in Downtown Orlando.

Sadly, the Panchero's owners didn't seem to get it. I liked the guys who worked there, and generally liked their food (their chips were terrible, bland and frequently stale), but the store would be closed at dumb times. They never opened on Sundays, and Saturday openings seemed sporadic.

Also, I saw them closed with floods of people walking from Orange to Amway and back during games or concerts.

They were also overpriced (Burrito + Chips + Drink == $12).

I'm surprised they lasted as long as they did.

I will miss having a burrito place nearby, though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 1 month later...
smileguy Burg

smileguy

Posted
Posted

With The Rusty Spoon, and Five Guys almost all of the ground floor of the plaza will be occupied, with only the 2 spaces on the West side of the breezeway left to fill. Anyone know anything about those 2 remaining spaces, or all the space on the 2nd Floor of 54/55 W?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
John Hargrove Hamlet

John Hargrove

Posted
Posted

I seen a bunch of Five Guys employees outside the store this morning. Probably doing training. If I go outside later I'll look to see if they have a date listed for grand opening.

Just walked by there. It opens Monday morning. (April 4th @ 10:30AM).

I also noticed that their hours will be 10am to 11pm, 7 days a week. Panchero's/Braxi's was only open 6 days and not late on most nights, which seemed to contribute to their failure.

I plan to give them as much business as my calorie budget will allow (which, unfortunately, isn't much.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
klstorey Whistle-Stop

klstorey

Posted
Posted

I love that they are staying open till 11pm. That's a great start. I wish more places downtown would stay open later. It seems there is a lack in businesses open between 4pm-9pm. The downtown seems to die a little after the office buildings close and before the clubs open. I wish that Caffe Ritazza would stay open later. I would love to grad some coffee after I come out of a club. Hopefully if the hours work at 5Guys more places will follow, then hopefully they start to venture into even later hours. I would love to see more places open till 3 or 4am, grabbing that after party crowd.

With 5 Guys opening downtown is getting a lot of name brands finally. Maybe next we will see a few name brand sit down restaurants coming back downtown. I wouldn't mind having an Applebee's, TGI Fridays, or Olive Garden in downtown. IMO it would actually help the to bring the tourist back down there. Having some name brands they recognize could give them a safe bet downtown if they aren't feeling as adventurous. 5 Guys though already helps this and provides a nice cheaper alternative to the many fancier restaurants downtown.

Having more places open on the weekends should help also. Saturday mornings can get pretty dead downtown, hopefully having a few more options helps bring more people down. I still think 55W though needs a few retail options now. It seems to have gotten the food covered, now they need to work on some shopping. Maybe an Urban Outfitters (downtown really needs one!), a Diesel shop, and a Rugby Ralph Lauren (why doesn't Orlando have one of these yet!?!) with its cool cafe.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
John Hargrove Hamlet

John Hargrove

Posted
Posted

One of the major roadblocks for retail may be the parking situation. This is my own anecdotal experience, but I ask a lot of people why they don't go downtown more often (largely because of laziness on my own part. I hate having to get in the car), and time after time they complain about parking costs. Now, Orlando's downtown parking costs aren't that high, but when Colonialtown is 5-10 minutes northeast of downtown, and Mellinia is 10 minutes southwest of downtown, and both offer free parking and hundreds of stores, downtown doesn't hold a candle.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
klstorey Whistle-Stop

klstorey

Posted
Posted

One of the major roadblocks for retail may be the parking situation. This is my own anecdotal experience, but I ask a lot of people why they don't go downtown more often (largely because of laziness on my own part. I hate having to get in the car), and time after time they complain about parking costs. Now, Orlando's downtown parking costs aren't that high, but when Colonialtown is 5-10 minutes northeast of downtown, and Mellinia is 10 minutes southwest of downtown, and both offer free parking and hundreds of stores, downtown doesn't hold a candle.

What downtown does have though is events, such as those at the Amway and hopefully one day at the preforming arts center, that already attract people downtown. If the retail targeted those people I think more people would make a half day of it with a little shopping, dinner and then off to their event. Right now downtown is 1 focus place for most people, they come downtown to do one thing and then leave.

Also as more people move downtown and the Lymmo service expands I think parking will become less of an issue. Centro Ybor in Tampa also had issues with parking but by focusing on attracting people for numerous things and not just a single purpose they seem to at least be able to keep shops in their retail spaces. Maybe Church Street can learn a lesson from them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jgardnerucf Burg

jgardnerucf

Posted
Posted

I love that they are staying open till 11pm. That's a great start. I wish more places downtown would stay open later. It seems there is a lack in businesses open between 4pm-9pm. The downtown seems to die a little after the office buildings close and before the clubs open. I wish that Caffe Ritazza would stay open later. I would love to grad some coffee after I come out of a club. Hopefully if the hours work at 5Guys more places will follow, then hopefully they start to venture into even later hours. I would love to see more places open till 3 or 4am, grabbing that after party crowd.

With 5 Guys opening downtown is getting a lot of name brands finally. Maybe next we will see a few name brand sit down restaurants coming back downtown. I wouldn't mind having an Applebee's, TGI Fridays, or Olive Garden in downtown. IMO it would actually help the to bring the tourist back down there. Having some name brands they recognize could give them a safe bet downtown if they aren't feeling as adventurous. 5 Guys though already helps this and provides a nice cheaper alternative to the many fancier restaurants downtown.

Having more places open on the weekends should help also. Saturday mornings can get pretty dead downtown, hopefully having a few more options helps bring more people down. I still think 55W though needs a few retail options now. It seems to have gotten the food covered, now they need to work on some shopping. Maybe an Urban Outfitters (downtown really needs one!), a Diesel shop, and a Rugby Ralph Lauren (why doesn't Orlando have one of these yet!?!) with its cool cafe.

You would of loved the retail and restaurants in the early 1990s... But wait, there was no where to live...

--Olive Garden, TGIFridays, Pizzeria Uno, Howl at the Moon, Hooters, Jungle Jims, Gap, Banana Republic, Victoria's Secret, Brookstone, Athlete's Foot, Sharper Image, Sunglass Hut, etc.

I can go on forever in The Exchange...

Link to comment
Share on other sites
DeepEyez Whistle-Stop

DeepEyez

Posted
Posted

I just want to put this out there......I LOVE DOWNTOWN ORLANDO!!!! People may carp and complain about how Orlando isn't this city or that city but at the end of the day, it is still one of the best cities in terms of a vibrant downtown nightlife. On top of that, alot of the various zones in this town in general really do get live after-hours which makes it a very interesting night if you're game. Trust me on this! There's a reason why Tiger Woods' scandal centered around this little ol' city in the swamp. #imjustsaying

Also, that 7-Eleven in the 55 West complex is pure genius. So is that hotdog stand.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
DeepEyez Whistle-Stop

DeepEyez

Posted
Posted

I just want to put this out there......I LOVE DOWNTOWN ORLANDO!!!! People may carp and complain about how Orlando isn't this city or that city but at the end of the day, it is still one of the best cities in terms of a vibrant downtown nightlife. On top of that, alot of the various zones in this town in general really do get live after-hours which makes it a very interesting night if you're game. Trust me on this! There's a reason why Tiger Woods' scandal centered around this little ol' city in the swamp. #imjustsaying

Also, that 7-Eleven in the 55 West complex is pure genius. So is that hotdog stand.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.