Things To Do In SW Florida

Construction is expected to start before the end of the year on the newest food hall to enter the Orlando dining scene.

Orlando developer James Ekbatani is converting the former University Club space at 150 E. Central Blvd. in downtown’s Mondrian tower into the Eola Food Hall, which will showcase some of the region’s top culinary offerings.

“The Eola Food Hall will transform this corner into a vibrant place where surrounding residents and the business community can gather and collaborate,” he said. “By promoting local businesses and regional products, the project will foster inclusivity and enable consumers to celebrate the distinctive qualities of the downtown Orlando neighborhood.”

It is the third new food hall being envisioned in the downtown area.

Ekbatani has joined forces with Lincoln Property Company to handle the buildout and leasing for the project. The first two floors of the four-story building on the southwest corner of E. Central and N. Rosalind Avenue, are being repositioned as a two-story, 15,000-square-foot food hall. Diners will have panoramic views through floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Lake Eola and new outdoor cafe seating on Rosalind Avenue across from the planned expansion of Lake Eola Park. read more

New activities have been incorporated into the IAAPA Expo, which returns to the Orange County Convention Center in November.

“With growth comes innovation, and we are thrilled to bring so many new and exciting additions to IAAPA Expo this year,” Jakob Wahl, president and CEO of the Orlando-based International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions trade group, said in a news release. “Our North America team has truly outdone themselves. There are a number of creative activations that can only be seen at an Expo.”

Among this year’s additions are:

• Legends: A Hall of Fame Celebratory Affair: The gathering will salute new honorees and benefit the IAAPA Foundation. The evening will include fine dining, live and silent auctions, entertainment and recognition of past Hall of Fame members.  New inductees include Dick Chance of Chance Rides; Geoff Chutter, CEO of WhiteWater, a water-park manufacturer; Rick Hunter, water-park innovator; and Clark Robinson, former president and CEO of IAAPA. The session, listed as “elegant cocktail attire,” is 7 p.m. Nov. 18; individual tickets are $300. read more

A SpaceX launch from Cape Canaveral on Saturday evening would mark the 73rd launch from the Space Coast in 2024, the most ever in one year.

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 22 of the company’s Starlink satellites is set to lift off from Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 40 targeting 5:47 p.m. during a launch window that runs until 9:47 p.m. Backup opportunities are available on Sunday during a four-hour window that opens at 5:24 p.m.

Space Launch Delta 45’s weather squadron forecasts a 90% chance for good launch conditions for both Saturday and Sunday’s windows.

The first-stage booster for the flight is making its 19th launch with a planned recovery landing downrange in the Atlantic Ocean on the droneship Just Read the Instructions.

A SpaceX Starlink launch on Wednesday tied the 2023 record, which saw a combination of 68 from SpaceX, three from United Launch Alliance and one from Relativity Space, from pads at either Kennedy Space Center of Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

With yesterday’s successful launch, SLD 45 has now supported 72 launches here on the #SpaceCoast in 2024, tying 2023’s total launch count. read more

Employees of an I-Drive restaurant staged a protest this week criticizing “unfair wages” by their Chicago-based owner.

About 25 workers at The Hampton Social stood outside the restaurant located in The Pointe shopping mall Thursday with signs showcasing their displeasure with a new pay structure — one they said likely would reduce what servers, bartenders and other “front of house” workers make.

The restaurant told employees Monday that it had adopted a new pay structure based on a federal labor law that makes certain employees exempt from overtime.

The change would drop hourly pay and require a sharing of tips, but The Hampton Social workers said they fear it will mean they take home less money while the company, Parker Hospitality, makes more.

Employee Karen Campos said many staff members will have their set pay drop $7 an hour or more.

“As of today, we’re going from regular paid employees that make $9.98, with some of us at higher wages based on merit or higher positions, and we’re all going to be making about $2 an hour,” she said. read more

By STAN CHOE

Job hopping is one of the best ways workers have to increase their pay, and a surprisingly solid job market means they still have opportunities. That’s great news for workers, but remember: Make sure you’re setting aside as much into your new 401(k) plan as your old one.

When a worker moves to a new job, they have to take the extra step of signing up for their new employer’s 401(k) plan and deciding how much of their paycheck to contribute. Otherwise, if they’re lucky, they’ll end up getting automatically enrolled into the plan and contributing whatever the employer decided as the default percentage of pay.

At nearly half of the 401(k) plans with automatic enrollment that Vanguard keeps records for, that default is 3% or 4%.

For first-time workers just starting their careers, that kind of contribution might make some sense, even if the rule of thumb is to save 10% to 15% of your pay. Many 401(k) plans will also automatically increase that savings percentage by 1 percentage point per year. read more