Welcome to Monday Morning in Orlando
Last Thursday, we left off with a fun little giveaway for two complimentary tickets to the Good Pour Winter Park Garden Party happening this Friday!
🏆 Well, we have a winner, picked at random! April K. a.k.a. akosluk, please step down and collect your prize. Actually, I’ll reach out later this morning and get you all sorted! For the rest of y’all, grab your tix, right here.
In today’s issue: 👇
- Buried Military Past
- Yard Signs vs. T-Shirts
- Perla’s
- ….and much more
Did someone forward this email to you? If so, subscribe here.
Let’s dive in!
- Philip
P.S. Want some hawt community sourced foodie recommendations? Check out the Orlando Signal Restaurant Guide, right here.
🥛We're bringing Dinner Club back where it all started
Yep, we're going back to the Milk District.
It’s happening Wednesday, April 29th at 6:30pm. Take the quiz, get matched with five Orlando locals who match your vibe, and meet at a great Milk District spot (revealed that morning).
Mid-dinner, we'll text everyone the nearby meetup spot (optional) where all tables re-group.
Whether you were there for Round 1 or you're joining us for the first time, come on out and meet your fellow OS peeps.
New friends. Good food. The neighborhood that started it all.
ORLANDO REWIND ⏪
Orlando's Buried Military Past
The Florida Heritage Landmark marker on Maguire Boulevard is easy to blow past at 40 mph, a modest plaque sitting on top of one of Florida's wilder military origin stories.
The Orlando Army Air Force Base opened September 1st, 1940, swallowing a sleepy 65-acre airfield beside Lake Underhill. Pearl Harbor hit, and the place exploded to 1,000 acres and six runways practically overnight.
By late 1942, it was running the Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics, training 54,000 personnel across an 8,000-square-mile Florida theater. Some 756 German POWs picked oranges down the road. General "Hap" Arnold dropped by to inspect. Bob Hope dropped by to get laughs.
Postwar, the base kept reinventing itself: separation center, Cold War command hub, home of the reactivated 14th Air Force (yes, the Flying Tigers), then Naval Training Center Orlando, the Navy's third-largest campus and, in 1973, its first co-ed boot camp.
BRAC closed it in 1993. Over 250 buildings came down.
The rubble? Crushed and buried beneath the streets of Baldwin Park.
Neighbors jog over it every morning. The base never really left, it's just underground now.
🔥 Want to learn a ton more about the Orlando Army Air Force Base’s history? Check out my expanded version, right here.
THE SQUEEZE 🍊
The Blend That Could Bend Prices
Florida is pulling a fast one on summer, in the best way possible.
The state has issued a 90-day emergency order letting gas stations sell winter-grade fuel starting May 1st, buying drivers some breathing room before the season's notorious price hikes kick in.
Here's the nerdy-but-useful part: summer gas costs more to refine because it's specially engineered to evaporate less in the heat, keeping smog-causing chemicals out of the air, a standard refineries have quietly maintained for over 55 years. Drivers might notice a slight dip in fuel efficiency, but plenty will simply drive less if prices stay stubbornly high.
Unfortunately, Florida can't control the global oil market. Overseas instability and supply chain disruptions could send prices climbing regardless of what's sitting in the pump.
(Learn a lot more about Florida's fuel formula fix with Ashley Engle, right here)
History Lessons With Staying Power
Central Florida has no shortage of attractions competing for your attention. The Holocaust Memorial Resource & Education Center of Florida isn't competing, it's doing something more important.
For over forty years, this pioneer among southeastern U.S. Holocaust centers has been turning history into something you can actually feel. Founded by survivor Tess Wise, the Center skips the dry statistics and goes straight for the human story, the kind that sticks with you long after you've left the parking lot.
Tens of thousands of students and visitors show up annually. Now, thanks to Orange County's Cultural Tourism Grant Program and its Tourist Development Tax dollars, even more are on the way.
Yard Signs vs. T-Shirts: Orlando's Shelter Standoff
When Orlando city leaders floated the idea of converting a vacant work release center into a homeless shelter, the neighborhood opposition arrived fast, loud, and organized — yard signs, packed meetings, and all. The shelter proposal didn't survive.
But some neighbors weren't celebrating.
A small grassroots group founded Support Orlando Shelters, deliberately shortened to S.O.S., because subtlety has its place, and started showing up to government meetings in matching T-shirts, turning quiet disapproval into steady public pressure.
The numbers back them up. Rents climbed nearly 40 percent between 2019 and 2023. Over 1,000 people sleep on Central Florida's streets nightly, with shelter capacity short by hundreds of beds.
The T-shirts aren't coming off anytime soon.
(Dive deeper into who's fighting for Orlando's homeless with McKenna Schueler, right here)
💼 This Week’s Curated Jobs
Sourced from the Orlando Signal Job Board!
🛣️ Travel Center General Manager Confidential | Orlando
Run your own roadside empire 24/7/365. Lead the crew, crush EBITDA targets, and keep travelers fueled, fed, and happy at a bustling multi-profit-center travel plaza.
💰 $80K-$90K/year + quarterly bonus | 👉 Learn More & Apply
⚖️ Legal Administrative Support State Farm | Orlando (Hybrid)
Join a Fortune 50 powerhouse behind the scenes. File pleadings, wrangle subpoenas, and keep litigation attorneys organized while working a chill 38.75-hour week with killer benefits.
💰 $42.8K-$49K/year + 9% bonus potential | 👉 Learn More & Apply
🏥 Field Sales Representative (Medicare) CVS Health / Aetna | Orlando
Become a Medicare matchmaker in the field. Hit community events, enroll seniors in health plans, and build your own book of business helping people get the coverage they deserve.
💰 $51.6K-$101.2K/year | 👉 Learn More & Apply
👗 Department Manager Primark | Orlando
Own your fashion kingdom inside a global retail giant. Manage inventory, crush sales targets, and lead a team making affordable style accessible to everyone who walks through the door.
💰 $58.7K-$71.7K/year | 👉 Learn More & Apply
Tap/click here for lots more opportunities. Over 100 added last week!
✈️ Orlando’s best flight deal - Boardwalks and beach town energy edition
Late May Myrtle Beach knows exactly what it is, and isn't apologizing. The water's warm enough to actually swim, the boardwalk's firing on all cylinders, and you're eating seafood by the pound while mini golf windmills spin in the background. Is it fancy? Absolutely not. Is it a good time? Undeniably. The beaches stretch forever, the sunsets are free, and there's something refreshing about a place that just leans into being a classic American beach town. Bring sunscreen, lower your expectations, raise your fun levels.
Orlando (MCO) → Myrtle Beach (MYR) for 153 buck-a-roos*, round-trip Thursday through Sunday in mid-May. See the deal.
*Price shown above is accurate as of the time this newsletter was sent.
TASTY NEWS 🧑🍳
Orlando Area Eateries Coming & Going
1️⃣ OPENING SOON: CREO - Italy Called. Orlando Answered.
Creo (Insta) is landing at East End Market this spring with house-made Tuscan flatbreads, rotating seasonal plates, cicchetti, and scratch-made sodas worth sticking around for. Walk up, order at the counter, and wait for the text that tells you it's go time.
2️⃣ COMING SOON: Meltwich - Hot Mess Fries Are Coming
Orlando, meet your new comfort food obsession. Meltwich (Insta), the Canadian chain slinging grilled cheese, burgers, and gloriously loaded "Hot Mess Fries," is landing near UCF in mid-to-late May. It'll be Orlando's first and Florida's second location, with eyes already on catering the Orange County Convention Center. Melted cheese never looked so ambitious.
#ORLANDOSIGNAL 📸
Lovely Lake Killarney (behind Trader Joe’s)
📷 via @orlandosignal |📍Winter Park
Tag @orlandosignal to get your photo featured in the newsletter!
FOODIE FIND, FORK YEAH! 🤩
Perla’s Pizza
📍959 W Fairbanks Ave, Winter Park, Florida 32789. Map to this location.
Michael Collantes doesn't care what your Italian grandmother thinks about pizza, and that's the whole point.
The Soseki chef has resurrected his beloved Perla's (Insta) in a new location, and it's gotten stranger. Bananas land on the "Florida Man Pizza." Kimchi, Takis, corn, and pineapple jam follow close behind.
Underneath the chaos? Real craft. A hi-fi vinyl soundtrack keeps you planted in your seat longer than you planned.
👉 Check out the menu, right here 👈
Source: Perla’s Pizza
MORE PULP! 😎
Weekday things to check out
Presented by The Presence-Driven Leader: Fromdishwasher, to executive, to author. Victor Simmons has done it all. Now he's ready to tell you exactly how presence, not polish, is what makes people stop, listen, and truly follow.
Author Talk & Signing at The 5th Floor in Avalon Park on Monday, May 4th at 6 p.m.. Live Q&A, a DJ, light bites, bar service, and a book signing. No business background required.
Come as you are. Leave leading better.
Tap/Click here for more info & to register.
🎨 18th Annual Winter Park Paint Out
📅 Monday, April 20th - Saturday, April 25th
📍 Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens
Watch 23 plein air artists paint live across Winter Park with complimentary admission, demos, and fresh artwork you can take home.
👉 Paint the Town
🧘 Flow and Bloom
📅 Monday, April 20th | 6:30-8:30pm
📍 1420 Gemini Blvd
Unfurl like petals with gentle yoga, breathwork, harmonic sounds, and your own flower for a spacious, centered experience.
👉 Blossom Within
🍔 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
🎭 Centennial Impact Tours
📅 Wednesday, April 22nd | 8:30am
📍 Orlando Family Stage, Loch Haven Park
Go backstage to discover 100 years of theatrical magic shaping young hearts and minds across Central Florida.
👉 Behind the Curtain
🧶 Winter Park Fiber Arts Club
📅 Wednesday, April 22nd | 6-8pm
📍 Writer's Block Bookstore, Winter Park
Bring your knitting, crochet, or embroidery and stitch the night away with fellow fiber fanatics at this inaugural meetup.
👉 Yarn & Chat
🌿 Roots & Rituals - Earth Day Event
📅 Wednesday, April 22nd | 6:30-8:30pm
📍 Great Southern Box Company
Build your own living terrarium layer by layer and take home a piece of intentional growth with wellness goodies.
👉 Plant Your Reset
🎤 Spotlight Cabaret: Tonya Phillips Staples
📅 Wednesday & Thursday, April 22nd-23rd | 7:30pm
📍 Winter Park Playhouse
Soul-stirring journey through blues, jazz, and classics from "Hound Dog" to "Cry Me A River" with powerhouse vocals.
👉 Feel the Soul
🕯️ Austen + Zombies Event
📅 Thursday, April 23rd | 6:30pm
📍 Authentic Books, 1815 N Orange Ave
Sip tea, craft custom candles, get a mystery reading, and browse books at this moody Pride and Prejudice and Zombies soirée.
👉 Drawing Rooms & Dread
🎭 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
