Things To Do In SW Florida

Four Central Florida restaurants shut down the week of May 11-17, according to data from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

Orange

Dimsum King & Seafood at 4192 Conroy Road, Suite 109 in Orlando shut down on May 12. Inspectors found 21 violations, seven of which were high priorities. Those violations included flying insects, rodent activity and an improperly stored toxic substance. A second inspection occurred on May 13. Inspectors found 21 violations, seven of which were high priorities. Many of the violations were either completely cleaned up or given an extension. The restaurant met inspection standards.

La Maison Du Gout at 4563 S. Orange Blossom Trail, Suites 1&2 in Orlando shut down on May 13. Inspectors found 17 violations, three of which were high priorities. Those violations included flying insects, an expired license and rodent activity. A second inspection occurred on May 14. Inspectors found 16 violations, three of which were high priorities. Inspectors gave time extensions to the violations and the restaurant was allowed to reopen even though it required a follow-up inspection. read more

Orange County commissioners sided with the environment Tuesday by unanimously rejecting the proposed Tuscana development and the thousands of hotel rooms and housing units it would bring to Shingle Creek Basin.

“We got to learn from our mistakes, because the reason property insurance is going up is not a mystery,” Commissioner Kelly Martinez Semrad said during the meeting. “We have developed in places that it didn’t belong and the water doesn’t know boundaries — it goes where it needs to go.

“The issue is not just about environmentally sensitive lands, this issue is about public safety.”

The project involves building over 1,200 hotel rooms and 4,800 multifamily dwelling units on an area of agricultural-zoned land near Central Florida’s theme parks and close to parts of 20-mile-long Shingle Creek, extending into sensitive wetlands that serve as headwaters to the Everglades and run through Osceola County.

The vote offers a strong pro-environment signal in the first major development issue to confront the board since the November election. In that election, voters rejected commission candidates backed by developers and endorsed two ballot measures limiting growth outside of urban areas. read more

By GISELA SALOMON

DORAL, Fla. (AP) — As a business owner in the largest Venezuelan community in the United States, Wilmer Escaray is stressed and in shock. He is unsure what steps he needs to take after the Supreme Court allowed President Donald Trump to strip legal protections from hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan immigrants.

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Escaray owns 15 restaurants and three markets, most of them in Doral, a city of 80,000 in the Miami area people known as “Little Venezuela” or “Doralzuela.” At least 70% of Escaray’s 150 employees and many of his customers are Venezuelan immigrants with Temporary Protected Status, also known as TPS. read more

By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS

NEW YORK (AP) — Levi Strauss is set to finally part ways with Dockers — inking a deal to sell its brand once credited with propelling the popularity of “Casual Fridays” to Authentic Brands Group.

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In an announcement Tuesday, the denim giant said it had agreed to sell Dockers to Authentic for up to $391 million. The transaction will start at an initial value of $311 million, with the potential of adding another $80 million to the price tag based on business performance under the new ownership.

The sale arrives as San Francisco-based Levi Strauss boosts its focus on the chain’s core Levi’s brand — as well as Beyond Yoga, which the company acquired in 2021, as more and more consumers continue to cozy up to athleisure wear. read more

Orlando-based Darden Restaurants closed 15 Bahama Breeze restaurants in the eastern United States last week — including five in Florida — but spared Orlando-area restaurants.

“We continually evaluate the performance of all our restaurants,” Darden told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “Closing a restaurant is a difficult choice because it impacts our team members and guests.

“However, we believe this is the right decision because it will allow Bahama Breeze to focus on its highest performing restaurants and strengthen the brand’s overall performance.”

There are nine Bahama Breeze locations in the Orlando metro area: five in Orange County, two in Osceola and two in Seminole. Darden did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday about how those locations are performing.

The Bahama Breeze restaurants shuttered in Florida were in Daytona Beach, Gainesville, Naples, Oakland Park and Sunrise. Four restaurants were closed in New Jersey as well as one each in Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New York and Tennessee. The closures reduce the number of active locations from 44 to 29. read more