Welcome to Monday Morning in Orlando
I hope the weekend was grand. Let’s get after another exceptional week ahead! Enjoy the issue!
In today’s issue: 👇
- Century on Central
- Orlando's Car-Free Loop
- Tambayan & Kusina
- ….and much more
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Let’s dive in!
- Philip
P.S. Want some hawt community sourced foodie recommendations? Check out the Orlando Signal Restaurant Guide, right here.
ORLANDO REWIND ⏪
Orlando's Most Interesting Building You've Walked Past
There is a building on West Central Boulevard in the City District that most people have walked past without once wondering how old it is. The answer is 114 years. Old enough to have received guests who'd never seen a talking picture, and old enough to have outlasted everyone who ever owned it.
That building is the Empire Hotel.
James Bailey Magruder, a Georgia-born entrepreneur with apparently zero interest in architectural drawings, threw up the Empire Hotel around 1912–1913 and somehow produced something that's still standing.
For its era, it was borderline braggy: 100 guest rooms with private baths, an electric elevator, and Orlando's first air-conditioned hotel. Silent film actors crashed here in the 1920s, back when Florida was outproducing Hollywood two-to-one, a fact that sounds made up, but isn't.
Depression-era tailors followed. Then decades of vacancy. Then Ember, a nightclub that packed the ground floor for 15 years before closing in December 2024.
Now it's listed at $12 million and silent again, waiting, as ever, to see what comes next.
🔥 Want to deep dive into the Empire Hotel’s history? Check out my expanded version, right here.
TOGETHER WITH:
CFCARTS COMMUNITY CHOIR
300 voices are calling. It's time for Road Trip: USA.
There's something about an open road. The way it stretches out ahead of you, full of possibility, full of sound.
Road Trip: USA is that feeling, live on stage. On Thursday, May 7th and Friday, May 8th at 7:30 p.m., the CFCArts Community Choir rolls into Northland Church for a coast-to-coast musical journey through the songs that built America.
Broadway's bright lights, the soulful ache of the blues, jazz corners, country roads, and rock 'n' roll that inspired a generation.
300 singers + Symphony Orchestra members. Theatrical lighting. Dynamic visuals. Every genre that ever made you feel something: folk, pop, gospel, jazz, and more.
America's story. One stage. Two dates. Be there.
🖱️ Tap/Click Here to Get More Info & Grab Tix →
THE SQUEEZE 🍊
What One Diagnosis Set in Motion
Nobody moves across the world with three suitcases and zero job prospects because things are going well. But that's exactly what Andre and Daniela Sophia did after their daughter Valentina was diagnosed with autism, and they'd do it all over again.
After years of building a virtual ABA therapy business from their Florida living room, the couple partnered with international investors to open Connection, a transdisciplinary autism support center in Winter Garden.
The January 2026 debut features sensory rooms where it literally rains indoors, life-skills spaces, and replica offices.
Three months in, 35 kids are enrolled and families are moving to Winter Garden just to get through the door.
(Learn a ton more about Connection and the family behind it with Megan Bruinsma, right here)
Orlando's Car-Free Loop Is Closing In
Tired of playing Frogger with downtown Orlando traffic? Good news, your car keys are about to get a lot lonelier.
The Downtown Loop, an 8.5-mile multi-use trail snaking through more than a dozen neighborhoods, will connect residents to shopping, dining, parks, and entertainment without a single bumper in sight.
Three segments have already flung open their doors along the Orlando Urban Trail, Gertrude's Walk, and the Downtown Connector Trail.
Right now, crews are buzzing along Washington Street, from Garland Avenue to Magnolia Avenue, with Pine Street, Eola Drive, and Summerlin Avenue eagerly waiting their turn.
🚵♂️ Check out the Downtown Loop project, right here.
10,000 Students Walk Into an Art Contest. The Planet Wins.
Every April in Orange County, Florida, something wonderful happens: jellyfish parade across rain barrels, amphibians leap off watercolor pages, and thousands of students suddenly become very passionate about water.
This year, more than 10,000 students across nearly 40 schools contributed to Orange County Utilities' 21st annual Water Conservation Calendar, produced in partnership with Orange County Public Schools.
The 2026 edition features 13 drawings and painted rain barrels, including a dreamy amphibian watercolor by a Colonial High School freshman on the cover and a jellyfish-covered barrel dreamed up by a team from Oak Ridge High School.
The program has had one job since 2005: make conservation cool. Mission accomplished.
🧑🧑🧒 Check out the image gallery from the event, right here.
💼 This Week’s Curated Jobs
Sourced from the Orlando Signal Job Board!
🥽 Meta Market Manager 2020 Companies | Orlando Market (90% travel)
Travel Orlando's Best Buys spreading the VR/AR gospel. Train Meta specialists, demo headsets to curious shoppers, and watch sales soar while living on the cutting edge of tech.
💰 $24/hour + quarterly bonus | 👉 Learn More & Apply
🔧 Maintenance Supervisor Greystar / Hammock Park | Orlando
Run maintenance ops for a luxury apartment communit. Lead the fix-it crew, make units sparkle for new tenants, and keep 300+ residents living their best life.
💰 $28-$30/hour + bonuses | 👉 Learn More & Apply
🚗 Rental Sales Agent SIXT | Orlando International Airport
Greet jet-lagged travelers and upsell them from economy to luxury rides. Your charm + SIXT's fleet = uncapped commissions that could bank you $100K+.
💰 $15/hour + uncapped bonuses ($73K-$109K+ avg) | 👉 Learn More & Apply
Tap/click here for lots more opportunities. Over 100 added last week!
✈️ Orlando’s best flight deal - Smithsonians and city neighborhoods edition
Early June DC and the monuments are glowing at sunset, the Tidal Basin's in full bloom, and you're bouncing between free Smithsonians like you're collecting Pokemon. Yeah, it's hot. But you're also standing where history happened. The Metro actually works, the neighborhoods are legit, and there's something wild about having world-class museums with zero admission price. Pack comfortable shoes and go explore.
Orlando (MCO) → Washington DC (BWI) for 207 buck-a-roos*, round-trip Thursday through Sunday in Early-June. See the deal. R.I.P. Spirit Airlines, a major source of cheap flights.
*Price shown above is accurate as of the time this newsletter was sent.
TASTY NEWS 🧑🍳
Orlando Area Eateries Coming & Going
1️⃣ NOW OPEN: Roopram’s Roti Restaurant - Where Roti Meets Real Tradition
At Roopram's Roti Restaurant (Insta), now open at 3200 Parkway Center Ct, every bite carries generations of Surinamese-Hindustani tradition. Soft, well-filled roti. Freshly baked bara. Authentic recipes, lovingly unchanged.
2️⃣ OPENING SOON: Catchè - Orlando's Sweetest New Obsession Arrives
Something sweet is headed to Mills 50, and it's unlike anything Orlando has seen before. Catchè (Insta), the city's only handcrafted chè cafe. They’re targeting opening mid-month with a menu built around chè, the Vietnamese dessert that can't quite make up its mind between sweet drink, silky pudding, and layered soup. Vietnamese coffee and fresh-pressed juices round out the fun.
#ORLANDOSIGNAL 📸
Avalon Park mural @ The Bakery (←yummy spot!)
📷 via @orlandosignal |📍Avalon Park
Tag @orlandosignal to get your photo featured in the newsletter!
FOODIE FIND, FORK YEAH! 🤩
Tambayan & Kusina by Maya
📍1718 N Goldenrod Rd Unit 6 & 7, Orlando, FL 32807. Map to this location.
Before Maya Torres had a restaurant, she had a folding table at local pop-ups. In December 2025, she traded it for a permanent home on North Goldenrod Road and brought her whole philosophy with her.
Tambayan means the place where you linger, and this Filipino counter-service spot earns that name through soul-warming dishes like bistek tagalog, bone marrow bulalo, pork sinigang, and a sisig locals already swear by.
First visit? Let the staff guide you. And whatever you do, order the halo-halo.
👉 Check out the menu, right here 👈
Source: Tambayan & Kusina
MORE PULP! 😎
Weekday things to check out
🎶 Resonate Night 3
📅 Tuesday, May 5th | 6pm & 8pm
📍 Judson's Live, Dr. Phillips Center
Orlando Philharmonic's all-Beethoven program featuring Concertmaster Rimma Bergeron-Langlois and the masterful "Archduke" trio before Symphony No. 9.
👉 Beethoven Mini-Fest
🎉 Orange County's AANHPI Heritage Celebration
📅 Tuesday, May 5th | 7:30am
📍 Orange County Administration Building lawn
14th annual celebration with cultural performances, exhibitions, origami, henna, tea ceremony, music, dance, and light bites; Asian cultural attire encouraged.
👉 Cultural Celebration
🍔 Tasty Takeover in The Milk District
📅 Tuesdays | 6:30-10pm
📍 The Milk District – 2424 E Robinson St
Orlando's premier weekly food truck block party featuring diverse culinary offerings behind the shops and bars.
👉 Dine Alfresco
🛍️ Luminary Market
📅 Wednesday, May 6th | 5:30-9pm
📍 Luminary Green Park
Monthly market with 20-25 vendors followed by outdoor screening of "Inside Out 2" with LED visuals at 7pm.
👉 Shop & Watch
🎸 One Night of Queen
📅 Wednesday, May 6th | 7:30pm
📍 Walt Disney Theater, Dr. Phillips Center
Gary Mullen and The Works celebrate 40th anniversary of The Works Tour with world-renowned tribute to Queen's legendary music and showmanship.
👉 We Will Rock You
🎨 Timucua Talks: The Art of Aging
📅 Wednesday, May 6th | 7:30-9pm
📍 Timucua Arts Foundation
Monthly Art & Wellness panel featuring Terry Olson exploring aging, art, and mental health; pay-what-you-like, bring wine to share.
👉 Ageless Wisdom
🎭 Want to share an event? Use this link.
THANKS!
✅ Want to connect with 20K+ curious Orlandoans for your business?, start a conversation here.
🌟 Know a community superstar? Tell me about them, right here.
Thanks for reading! I’ll see you again on Thursday’s weekend fun issue.
My Best,
Philip - Publisher, Orlando Signal
