Lifestyle

Sunday may be the Lord's Day for some, but it's also a chance to kneel before some savory barbecue. Florida-based barbecue chain 4 Rivers Smokehouse announced this week that many of their locations will now be opening their doors on Sundays for the first time, starting Sept. 22. "This decision was made to uphold the company’s mission to support the local community, protect jobs and ensure stability and prosperity of their dedicated team members," said the company in a press release.

Heather LaVine, proprietress of Golden Hour Wine in Baldwin Park, is bringing the funk to Mills 50 this year. The owner of Orlando's best natural wine shop will open Quicksand, a bar focusing exclusively on natural wine, along with a small menu of Eurocentric wine bar fare (think olives, cheeses, charcuterie and tinned fish, a trending nosh in the city's dining scene). According to LaVine, Quicksand is intended to be a "community gathering space" in the neighborhood and, pét-naturally, will be a destination for those seeking wines made from organic, pesticide-free and biodynamically farmed grapes.

Unhyphenated America is an unappetizing proposition. It tastes like tighty whities and golf. Hyphenated America is where flavor lives — a free-ballin' funhouse of spicy and soulful.

Flying in the face of waves of grim news about local restaurant closings, popular local eatery Kappy's Subs announced they will be able to stay open after all. The longtime Maitland sandwich shop — open since 1967 — originally announced their abrupt closure last week, after the property owner (Bolen Properties) would not commit to a new lease deal with Kappy's. The sub shop's last day in business was supposed to have been Saturday, Sept. 14.

Hawkers Asian Street Food kickstarted a movement of a new generation of Asian and pan-Asian restaurants when it opened in Mills 50 way back in 2011. The cacophonous and bustling restaurant, modeled after the hawker stalls in Malaysia and Singapore, was on the vanguard of a movement that's seen immigrant-run Asian restaurants carry our restaurant scene forward and upward and sideward. But today, the seminal Mills 50 restaurant announced it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in order to "maintain operational control of the Company and preserve the integrity of its brand as to protect from an overreaching lender."

Longstanding sandwich spot Pom Pom's Teahouse & Sandwicheria will close its Milk District outpost next month, after nearly 20 years of business. Owner Pom Moongauklang announced in a Monday morning social media post the restaurant will close its doors by Friday, Oct. 4. "Over the past 20 years, I have been involved in the Orlando culinary scene and created multiple concepts (Pom Pom's, Tako Cheena, Mr. Sister's menu, and pop-ups inside FinnHenry's and Savoy).

Brittany Walsh Lyne and Patrick Lyne, the duo behind the popular Winter Park eatery Farm + Haus, announced the restaurant’s closure on social media last week, after less than two years in business. “The past year and a half has been the most challenging time that we have faced both personally and professionally — and we’re not alone,” the couple wrote in the post. “Make no mistake, it is a tough time for small business owners everywhere.”