Welcome to Monday Morning in Orlando
Cold front coming through in the second half of the week. Highs drop by two whole degrees. 🤣 I will take it, my friends.
In today’s issue: 👇
- Newspaper Slight
- Rubber Gators
- Bōshi Bar
- ….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 ⏪
How a Newspaper Slight in 1918 Built One Of Orlando's Most Enduring Congregations
In 1918, a local newspaper pointed out that Orlando's Jewish residents had been excluded from a war bond rally, not by design, but because no Jewish congregation existed to invite. Community leader Pauline Berman read that and apparently decided embarrassment was as good a reason as any to build something lasting.
She pulled neighbors together at businessman Harry Kanner's house, and within months, Florida had chartered Congregation Ohev Shalom, Orlando's first synagogue. Four founding principles: cooperation, religion, friendship, and charity. Dues: one dollar a month.
What followed was a century of stubborn staying power. The congregation moved three times, somehow kept Orthodox, Reform, and Conservative Jews worshipping under one roof for decades, and when a developer ended up with their beloved 1926 stained-glass windows, they tracked him down and bought them back.
Today, Ohev Shalom anchors a lakeside Maitland campus complete with the only Conservative mikvah in the region, quite the upgrade from one secondhand room on Terry Street.
📜 This is just the highlight reel. A hundred-year run, three campuses, and one very determined woman who read a newspaper and decided to change things. The full story is worth your time. Dive in, right here.
THE SQUEEZE 🍊
A Seedling from the Ashes, Growing in Our Backyard
In the rubble of the World Trade Center, workers found a Callery pear tree that had absolutely no business still being alive. Burned, broken, roots ripped from the earth, they hauled to a Bronx nursery anyway, and against all odds, it came roaring back as the Survivor Tree.
That tree now lives at the National September 11 Memorial.
And one of its seedlings? Right here in Orlando, at Harry P. Leu Gardens, planted in 2016 after Pulse, a living act of solidarity from a city that knew this kind of grief all too well.
Twenty-five years later, it's still going strong. Stubbornly, seasonally, gloriously unbothered.
Go say hello.
🌳 Check out Orlando’s Survivor Tree descendant, right here.
This Parramore Kitchen Is Broken. Its Owner Keeps Cooking Anyway.
Katherine "Ms. Kat" Wilson opened Ma'Belle's at 407 S. Parramore Ave. in 2016, naming the home-style comfort food spot after her late aunt. It's been a Parramore staple ever since, but right now, it's temporarily closed.
The culprit: a busted fryer, failing electrical panel, and a dead AC system. With two of three units out and the third blowing hot air, temperatures inside top 100 degrees when she cooks.
Yet every Sunday, Wilson and her sons Bobby and Leon show up at South Street and Parramore Avenue, feeding and clothing neighbors in need, no matter what.
That loyalty caught the eye of People's Free Kitchen, which has served over 7,000 free meals across Orlando since 2022.
The two organizations have run parallel Sunday distributions for years, and now People's Free Kitchen is giving back, launching a GoFundMe with a $5,500 goal to cover repair materials, with all labor volunteered.
Ms. Kat isn't sweating it. She knows help is coming.
(Dive deeper into Parramore's most giving kitchen with Ashley Garrett, right here)
Rubber Gators and Real Ones
The Orlando Museum of Art is staging two back-to-back exhibitions this fall that prove the Sunshine State is a lot more complicated, and interesting, than its postcard image suggests.
Floridiana: Vintage Treasures & Oddities from The Sunshine State kicking off this Friday through mid-January, packs the Weyand Gallery with more than 130 gloriously strange objects from Gary Monroe's personal collectio: hotel ashtrays, rubber alligators, roadside brochure, the kind of kitsch most people toss and a rare few treasure. Curated by Coralie Claeysen-Gleyzon, it's an affectionate romp through mid-century Florida mythology.
Then a week later, National Geographic photographer Carlton Ward Jr. brings things back to earth in the Brooker Grand Gallery with The Wild Path (September 25, 2026 through January 3, 2027. 70 stunning photographs from 2,000 miles of expeditions tracking Florida's endangered wildlife corridor and the elusive Florida panther.
One exhibit celebrates the fantasy. The other fights for what's real.
👉 Partner With Orlando Signal 👈
💼 Who’s Hiring in Orlando?
Sourced from the Orlando Signal Job Board!
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Be the CEO of your own Orlando territory, visiting customers on-site Tuesday through Friday and helping businesses across every industry find the right shipping and packaging solutions.
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Hiring? Post a job
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Know someone looking? Send them here.
✈️ Orlando’s best flight deal - Foliage and free admission edition
October hits Washington DC like a refresh button: crisp air, trees turning along the Mall, and a city that feels like it's showing its best side. The National Gallery of Art is world-class and completely free, Georgetown is stunning when the leaves start turning, and the Library of Congress is one of the most breathtaking buildings you'll walk into anywhere in the country. Grab a bite in Shaw or the 14th Street corridor where the restaurant scene is genuinely excellent, catch a Nationals playoff push if the stars align, and don't skip the National Portrait Gallery. It's consistently one of the most underrated stops in the entire city.
Orlando (MCO) → Washington DC (IAD) for 159 bucks* (non-stop!), round-trip Thursday through Sunday, early-October. 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: The Humble Crumb - A Loaf Finds Home
What started in a family kitchen and grew into a beloved farmers market staple in Hunters Creek, The Humble Crumb (Insta) built its following one loaf at a time. Now, this artisan sourdough micro-bakery is stepping into its first permanent home, the Marketplace at Avalon Park, next month.
2️⃣ COMING SOON: Pür & Simple - Brunch Just Got a Passport
A Canadian breakfast and brunch spot is landing in Kissimmee this November, and it's bringing serious brunch energy. Pür & Simple (Insta) serves up crepes, eggs Benedict, brunch poutines, fresh juices, and giant egg white omelettes, all inside a bright, European-inspired dining room where the portions are as impressive as the décor.
#ORLANDOSIGNAL 📸
Mural on the side of the mysterious AT&T building downtown.
📷 via @orlandosignal |📍City District
Tag @orlandosignal to get your photo featured in the newsletter!
FOODIE FIND, FORK YEAH! 🤩
Bōshi Bar
📍12001 Avalon Lake Dr Ste A, Orlando, FL 32828. Map to this location.
On certain nights, Smoke & Donuts on N. Primrose Drive stops being a BBQ restaurant entirely. The dining room dims, a DJ drops a needle onto vinyl, and brisket ramen starts steaming from the kitchen.
That's Bōshi Bar (Insta), a Japanese food and music pop-up running select sessions inside one of Orlando's favorite BBQ spots.
The signature dish says it all: smoked brisket meets Japanese noodle soup, with okonomiyaki, cocktails, and an all-vinyl soundtrack rounding out the night.
Now approaching Session 42, it's earned its following.
👉 Check out the menu, right here 👈
Source: Bōshi Bar
MORE PULP! 😎
Weekday things to check out
🧱 BYO Lego Night with Craft Club Orlando
📅 Monday, September 14th | 6:30-8:30pm
📍 Zymarium Meadery
Grab that dusty unopened set and build alongside fellow LEGO lovers over mead, with raffle giveaways throughout the night for extra fun!
👉 Build Together
🎨 The Art of Pause
📅 Tuesday, September 15th | 10-11am
📍 Orlando Museum of Art
Slow down and spend a full hour with one artwork through mindful observation, guided conversation, drawing, and reflective journaling. In a world that rushes past everything, this is your invitation to linger.
👉 Breathe and Look
👨🍳 Cooking with Confidence: Essential Skills for Everyday Cooking
📅 Tuesday, September 15th | 6-7pm
📍 Center for Health & Wellbeing, Nutrition Theatre, Winter Park
Chef and food scientist Erik Amnott covers knife skills, roasting, marinating, and flavor layering so you can walk into your kitchen with total confidence.
👉 Cook Smarter
🍻 Cheers to Volunteers Happy Hour
📅 Tuesday, September 15th | 5:30-7:30pm
📍 The Plaza Live
All 12 Orlando Main Streets districts come together to recruit passionate locals who want to shape their neighborhoods, support local businesses, and get involved.
👉 Get Involved
🎸 Tinsley Ellis
📅 Wednesday, September 16th
📍 Judson's Live, Dr. Phillips Center
Atlanta blues legend brings his raw, guitar-fueled tales of voodoo spirits and heaven-sent prayers from his acclaimed new album "Labor of Love."
👉 Blues Fire
✈️ 2026 LPA Aerospace Industry Expo
📅 Thursday-Friday, September 17th-18th | 1-5pm
📍 Signia by Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek
Aviation's largest Latino recruitment event connects pilots, engineers, mechanics, and aerospace professionals with top recruiters and on-site job offers.
👉 Take Flight
🎵 Swamp Xista at Stardust Video and Coffee
📅 Thursday, September 17th | 7:30-9:30pm
📍 Stardust Video and Coffee, Audubon Park
Beth McKee, Renee Arozqueta, Amy Robbins, and friends debut this new ensemble with songs, stories, and collaboration; opening set by Edan Archer benefiting Swamp Sistas La La Foundation.
👉 Swamp Soul
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THANKS!
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Thanks for reading! I’ll see you again on Thursday’s weekend fun issue.
My Best,
Philip - Publisher, Orlando Signal
