Tampa-based Fresh Kitchen will take over the former Chicken Guy at 818 S. Orlando Ave, promising a major interior overhaul and a year-end 2026 opening. The move follows the Park Avenue location's 2025 closure.

Chef Mario Pagán is closing Chayote and reopening the Winter Park Village space as The Grove Bar + Kitchen, a Florida‑focused, more approachable concept slated for late May. The new menu leans on local purveyors and adds a private dining room.

A La Vie, from chef Laurent Carillon, opens May 14 in downtown Cocoa Beach with croissants, beignets and espresso.

Agave Azul owner Juan Rios plans Naya Comida + Barrita at Maitland’s Trelago Market, a wood‑fire Mexican spot promising nixtamal tortillas and agave‑forward cocktails.

A sister coffee-and-bites counter from the owner of Candelaria Eatery & Cafe is being built next door in Oxford; no opening date has been announced.

Chef Maria Gabriela Toro's Viva Healthy is expanding to Winter Park, teasing a 'pink house' cafe at Unigold Shopping Center. The brand's Instagram and state filings show the move is part of a coordinated local expansion.

Plan‑review paperwork shows a proposed IHOP at 37051 U.S. 27 in Haines City near Bates Road. The filing names Sunshine Restaurant Partners as the franchisee.

A Korean katsu chain has opened at 5075 Edgewater Drive, serving plate‑sized cutlets and teishoku sets in Northgate Plaza.

White Castle opened a new Kissimmee Castle and has Daytona and St. Augustine plans — but the chain hasn’t announced a Tampa Bay site yet.

A New York‑trained chef has opened Sushi Izuki in O‑Town West, offering a seasonal 18‑course omakase that highlights dry‑aged fish and Hokkaido rice. Limited seats; reservations required.

São Paulo's SEO Basilico is opening a Winter Garden outpost at Stoneybrook Exchange, serving made‑in‑house 12‑inch Neapolitan pies and an open kitchen.

Barakah Beans, the cart-turned coffee brand run by Shams Khazil, plans a Kissimmee storefront at 3262 Vineland Road with Middle Eastern coffee and a summer opening.

Eric Jiang's Jiang's Kitchen is headed to Mills 50 at 1111 E. Colonial Drive, promising hand-ripped biang biang noodles, soup dumplings and an open kitchen.