ORLANDO, Fla. – As Central Florida’s population has grown, so has its restaurant scene. In fact, WalletHub just ranked Orlando the No. 1 food city in America.
One area seeing that restaurant boom is Orlando’s Mills 50 neighborhood, where a dozen new businesses have opened in the last year.
Mills 50 is one of Orlando’s oldest neighborhoods and sits just north of the city’s downtown core along Mills Avenue and State Road 50 — hence the name.
The area was once known as Orlando’s “Little Vietnam.” It has an active Asian community with plenty of Asian markets and restaurants.
Over the years, though, a more diverse lineup has emerged.
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“I’ve seen the years go by and the change has been so big,” Thomas Ward said.
When Ward opened Pig Floyd’s along Mills Avenue in 2014, he was told it would be difficult to make it work.
“When I was looking at the area, it was said to be a C+ in terms of demographics and stuff like that,” he said. “Today, it’s an A+.”
Nearly 10 years later, his barbecue restaurant is now considered established in the Mills 50 district.
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Dozens of new options have opened in the last few years, all bringing something unique to the table. Ward even opened another restaurant, Piggza, just down the street from Pig Floyd’s.
“It’s a great demographic,” he said. “You have offices in the area, which is really important to help the lunch business. You have the density of cars going through 17-92 that’s dramatically increased.”
What hasn’t changed in Mills 50 is the parking situation.
Very few businesses have spots on site, so folks have to rely on parking in neighborhoods or along the major roads. Ward says he’s asking the city to make changes to accommodate the influx of new business and people.
“That’s something the city has to make a decision on,” he said. “How do they approve a building with no parking? Because then it becomes something we’re all sharing in the problem.”
But that walkability is also what attracts people to the area. It doesn’t feel like you’re eating at a chain restaurant.
“Different cities have those areas where people go and it’s pedestrian-heavy,” Ward said. “It’s cooler mom-and-pops stores where people feel it’s local. I think that’s what Mills has become. It’s a local gateway to the Winter Park area where they have the major brands.”
The popularity of Mills 50 has also made rent prices more expensive, Ward says, and in this economic climate with higher food costs, a higher minimum wage, and higher insurance prices, he says restaurants, especially local ones, have to charge more to make ends meet.
“We’re just in a new time and I think the adjustment needs to happen in the guest’s mentality,” he said. “When you go out, you’re going to pay a little more than you used to just because things have changed.”
Restaurants that open in Mills 50 often have so much success they expand into different cities.
Ward is opening another Pig Floyd’s on Lee Road in Winter Park, where the old Bubbalou’s Bodacious BBQ used to be.
Hawkers, which serves Asian street food, has its flagship restaurant in Mills 50, and it now has 14 other locations across multiple states.
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