Downtown Orlando building with Gringos Locos sells, renovations planned

Welcome to Orlando Business Journal's weekly LinkedIn newsletter. I'm Digital Producer/Senior Staff Writer Richard Bilbao, rounding up Orlando business news to keep you in the know when time is short.

A downtown Orlando building that is home to a pair of popular restaurants has traded hands — and its new owner has plans to invest up to a half-million dollars into renovations.

The two-story building at 24 E. Washington St., the ground floor tenants for which include Gringos Locos and Loading Zone Philly Steaks, sold for $2.4 million on March 31 to 24 E Washington LLC, an entity related to Orlando-based commercial real estate firm Garito & Co.

Garito & Co. Director of Operations Cheyenne Matos confirmed to Orlando Business Journal that the firm had acquired the building, would be renovating its exterior and interior and that they will be relocating their offices there from a smaller space at nearby 14 E. Washington St.

Read more on the story here.

And now onto other big business deals, transactions and activity headlines from the week.

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Real estate news of the week

• Orlando medical project among biggest under construction in U.S. Why investors want a piece of more like it.: An under-construction medical office building that is one of the biggest commercial developments in Central Florida is also, as it turns out, one of the largest projects of its type in the nation.

• What would it take for a Buc-ee's to open in Orlando? Experts weigh in.: In late February, leaders in Marion County gave approval to a zoning change to make way for a new Buc-ee's — the Texas-based chain of massive convenience stores with a cult following.
• Maitland apartment property sells for north of $120M. Here's why it matters.: In 2023, Orange County only just saw its first nine-figure deal close late last month — and even that was done in two separate transactions.

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Orlando news bites

You don't want to miss these top stories:

• DeSantis' threat to add taxes, tolls near Disney is turning point in feud, experts say: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appears to have recovered from the counterpunch landed by The Walt Disney Co. in a feud regarding the theme park giant — and his latest plan takes aim at the company's wallet.
• Orlando seeks contractor on projects tied to fixing homelessness: The city of Orlando is looking for help to oversee new projects getting grants as part of its Accelerate Orlando plan.
• Buyer backs out of OCPS Eatonville property sale after lawsuit: Orange County Public Schools will no longer sell a roughly 100-acre property in Eatonville after a lawsuit.

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Restaurant news & notes

We're always hungry for new places to eat. Check these out:

• Jeff's Bagel Run gets private equity investment from uBreakiFix co-founder's company: Justin Wetherill's first private equity investment with his company 1337 Capital was inspired while eating a bagel from Jeff's Bagel Run.
• 2023 James Beard award nominees include Orlando chef: Metro Orlando has one chef among the nominees for the 2023 James Beard awards.
• This Disney Springs executive chef at The Edison restaurant has changed up her menu — Here's why: Executive Chef Deaundra “Dee” Rolle has rolled out eight new menu items at The Edison restaurant in the Walt Disney World Resort’s Disney Springs entertainment district.

(Personal note from Richard: One of my family's favorite places to dine is Disney Springs because there are choices for everyone ... especially my picky kids.)

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Nominations & Events

Things to put on your busy calendar:

• Come help us celebrate the 2023 40 Under 40 winners on April 20 at Mango's Tropical Cafe Orlando!
• Sign up for OBJ's Meet the Editor event on May 9.
• Nominate now for the 2023 Inno Under 25. The deadline is July 21.

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Finally ... make your voice heard!

These OBJ polls are live. Let us know what you're thinking.

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That's all for this week's top headlines, and thanks for supporting OBJ.

This weekly round-up of Orlando business news was compiled by Richard Bilbao, digital producer/senior staff writer. Questions? Comments? Concerns? News tips? Send them to rbilbao@bizjournals.com.