Welcome to Monday Morning in Orlando
Or lordy. My fam knocked it out of the park for Father’s Day. They surprised me with brunch at Osteria Ester in Thornton Park. This spot has been on our radar for some time, but the stars never aligned. Yesterday they aligned in a serious way. A++++++
In today’s issue: 👇
- Vinyl & Vibes
- Twice the Dream
- Raine's
- ….and much more
Did someone forward this email to you? Join over 20K insatiably curious Orlandoans, right here.
Let’s dive in!
- Philip
P.S. Want some hawt community sourced foodie recommendations? Check out the Orlando Signal Restaurant Guide, right here.
(GREATER) ORLANDO REWIND ⏪
Vinyl & Vibes: Inside Orlando's Beloved Murmur Records
Before algorithms decided what you liked, Donald Gilliland was doing it better, in person, behind a counter, in a College Park storefront named after an R.E.M. album.
The origin story is almost too good. In 1981, Gilliland caught R.E.M. play "Radio Free Europe" twice in one night at the 688 Club in Atlanta. He was done for. When Murmur dropped in 1983, he spotted a "For Rent" sign in a College Park window and essentially sprinted toward it.
The shop opened that October at 2812 Edgewater Drive. He was 24 and absolutely certain this was a good idea.
For over a decade, it was the only place in Orlando reliably stocking punk, post-punk, new wave, and college rock. CJ Ramone showed up and signed autographs.
By 1990, Rockpool had named it one of the country's best independent record stores, which, for a shop where parking was famously a nightmare, felt about right.
It couldn't last. A 1992 rebrand as Alobar Books & Music never caught on. Gilliland eventually sold up and moved to Bangkok, and the shop quietly folded, another casualty of discount chains and shrinking margins.
Streaming gives you everything now. It still can't replicate a clerk who slides a record across the counter and says, trust me.
🔥 Want to explore the Murmur Records and Tapes history further? Check out my expanded version, right here.
THE SQUEEZE 🍊
Half the Price, Twice the Dream
On a quiet lot off Quill Avenue in Parramore, someone is staring at vacant land and seeing something the housing market hasn't bothered to offer, a fighting chance.
The GXVE Homes Initiative is flipping the script on new construction with concrete homes priced around $200,000, half the region's median, built for families earning between $16,000 and $65,000 a year.
Disabled individuals on SSI or SSA qualify too, and bad credit won't slam the door, GXVE works with alternative credit and even offers rent-to-own options.
It’s a pilot program, and yes, it takes 12 to 24 months. But for families bleeding 80 percent of their paychecks on rent, the wait beats the alternative.
If you can rent, you can own. Eight homes a year, starting this fall.
(Learn a ton more about this affordable housing pilot program with Jarell Baker, right here)
The Man Who Watched Orange County Grow Up
Larkin Cockram nearly missed the job interview, because he'd already been a no-show for the exact same position the year before. Same office. Same interviewer. Somehow, he walked out employed anyway.
That was 1976. He never left.
Fifty years later, Cockram is a senior inspector in Orange County Public Works' Development Engineering Division, and he's had a front-row seat to one of Florida's wildest growth stories, toll roads multiplying, an airport ballooning into a regional powerhouse, and rural farmland giving way to one of the nation's fastest-growing metro areas.
He didn't just watch it happen. He helped build it.
A Community Born from Grief, and a Whole Lot of Hope
When Tim and Marie Kuck lost their son Nathaniel in 2001, a boy born with disabilities who lived just four years, they founded Nathaniel's Hope in his memory.
Two decades later, that grief has quietly grown into something remarkable.
The nonprofit, alongside Orange County leaders, is proposing "Hopetown": a 100-acre disability-focused community near Young Pine Community Park featuring roughly 200 apartments, 30 homes, and an assisted living facility.
Neighbors showed up last week with questions about traffic, wildlife, and meeting notices. Fair concerns, all around.
And when the room was asked to weigh in? The support was hard to ignore, even if the debate is far from over.
👉 Check out Hopetown’s vision and plans, right here.
(Learn lots more about Nathaniel's Hope and the Hopetown Project with Ashley Garrett, right here)
💼 This Week’s Curated Jobs
Sourced from the Orlando Signal Job Board!
🛍️ Coordinator, Marketing Simon Property Group / Florida Mall | Orlando
Keep Florida Mall buzzing with killer social content, splashy events, and tour operator relationships that bring shoppers through the door. Retail marketing meets real-world magic.
💰 Competitive salary | 👉 Learn More & Apply
🌳 Vegetation Program Manager ACRT | Orlando
Patrol Central Florida's utility corridors in a company truck, keeping trees from taking down the power grid while leading a crew of certified arborists who love the outdoors as much as you do.
💰 Competitive salary + company vehicle + gas card | 👉 Learn More & Apply
✈️ Travel Coordinator ThreatLocker | Orlando (On-site)
Keep a rocket-ship cybersecurity company's global team moving without a hitch. Master the art of last-minute bookings, vendor negotiations, and rescuing stranded travelers like a seasoned air traffic controller.
💰 Competitive salary | 👉 Learn More & Apply
📦 DC Operations Manager BJ's Wholesale Club | Orlando Area
Command the entire warehouse operation for a Fortune 500 wholesale powerhouse. Hit 100% inventory integrity, crush throughput targets, and keep thousands of products flowing to families across Florida.
💰 From $103K/year | 👉 Learn More & Apply
Tap/click here for lots more opportunities. Over 100 added last week!
✈️ Orlando’s best flight deal - Sourdough and foggy mornings edition
Here's the thing about San Francisco in early August: while the rest of the country is melting, you're pulling on a light jacket at noon and thinking this is the best kept secret in America. The fog rolls in off the bay like clockwork, the sourdough is absurdly good, and you're hopping between Mission taquerias, Ferry Building farmers markets, and neighborhoods that feel like entirely different cities. Rent a bike, cross the Golden Gate, eat a burrito the size of your forearm in the Mission.
Orlando (MCO) → San Francisco (SFO) for 349 bucks*, round-trip Thursday through Sunday, early-August. See the deal.
*Price shown above is accurate as of the time this newsletter was sent.
TASTY NEWS 🧑🍳
Orlando Area Eateries Coming & Going
1️⃣ COMING SOON: Don Patron Bistro & Social - Apopka, Your Table Is Almost Ready
Apopka is finally getting a night out worth dressing up for. Don Patron Bistro & Social (Insta) is bringing lamb chops, New York strip steaks, cajun rice, and a full cocktail bar to town this next month, all wrapped in a dark, moody atmosphere for diners, with DJs and live musicians to keep things interesting.
2️⃣ NOW OPEN: Joe & The Juice - Copenhagen Cool Hits Winter Park
Joe & The Juice (Insta) has arrived in Winter Park, and it brought the Tunacado. The Copenhagen-born café chain, dreamed up in 2002 by former karate champion Kaspar Basse, serves fresh-pressed juices, killer coffee, and the viral sandwich the internet lost its mind over in 2023.
#ORLANDOSIGNAL 📸
Eola Mural
📷 via @orlandosignal |📍City District
Tag @orlandosignal to get your photo featured in the newsletter!
FOODIE FIND, FORK YEAH! 🤩
Raine's Pizzeria
📍2401 Curry Ford Rd, Orlando, FL 32806. Map to this location.
Raine's Pizzeria ( Insta)is the kind of family-owned spot that earns your loyalty before you finish your first slice.
Tucked inside the Foxtail Coffee in Orlando's Hourglass District, this New York-inspired, Florida-souled shop runs on slow-fermented, house-made dough and scratch marinara, the care is baked in, literally.
The menu covers the classics, but the Pickle Pie is the move: ranch base, house pickles, Calabrian chili, fresh dill, ranch drizzle. Briny, creamy, a little spicy, and completely worth the detour.
👉 Check out the menu, right here 👈
Source: Raine's Pizzeria - PICKLE PIE
MORE PULP! 😎
Weekday things to check out
🎨 Watercolors for Beginners: Strawberries
📅 Tuesday, June 23rd | 1-3pm
📍 Harry P. Leu Gardens
Instructor Ann Marie Palmer guides you through rich watercolor mixes and freehand strawberry patterns. All supplies included, zero experience needed!
👉 Paint Sweet Things
🎷 Benoit's AudioFiles Listening Session
📅 Wednesday, June 24th | 7:30pm
📍 The White House, 2000 S Summerlin Ave
Immerse yourself in superb DXD orchestral recordings through Tannoy studio monitors in the best acoustic space around; pay-what-you-like.
👉 Pure Sound
📚 How Society's Sip & BYOB
📅 Wednesday, June 24th | 6-8pm
📍 328 N Orange Ave
Grab your book, Kindle, manga, or magazine and read alongside fellow book lovers over coffee, matcha, or tea. No assigned reading, no pressure, just vibes.
👉 Read Together
🎨 Free Curator Tour
📅 Wednesday, June 24th | 6-7pm
📍 Art & History Museums – Maitland
Chief Curator Dan L. Hess takes you inside Mär Martinez's stunning textile-inspired exhibition exploring surveillance, memory, and resistance; complimentary food and cash bar after.
👉 Behind the Art
🌺 Flow & Glow
📅 Thursday, June 25th | 6:30-8:30pm
📍 Genesis Health Clubs - Orlando Sportsplex
Yoga flow into a crystal bowl sound bath, then close with a guided gua sha facial ritual, because you deserve to glow inside and out.
👉 Reset & Radiate
🎭 Mystery Sketch Theater
📅 Thursday, June 25th | 8-10pm
📍 The Falcon Bar & Gallery, 819 E Washington St
Draw dazzling costumed models from superheroes to drag performers in this lively figure drawing session with prizes; all levels welcome for $5.
👉 Sketch the Spectacular
🎵 Ryan Devlin Quartet
📅 Thursday, June 25th | 7pm
📍 Judson's Live, Dr. Phillips Center
Next-gen saxophonist fresh from New England Conservatory brings his stellar quartet for an encore night of swinging jazz.
👉 Swing Into Summer
🎵 Thursday Night Hang
📅 Thursday, June 25th | 8-10pm
📍 Blue Bamboo Center for the Arts, Winter Park
Concert set followed by jazz jam with the house band, musicians are welcome to bring their instruments and sit in with the house band.
👉 Jam Session
🎭 Want to share an event? Use this link.
THANKS!
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🌟 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
