Richard’s Fine Coffees
Richard’s is the kind of place where it’s easy to sit down and get lost in a book over a piping hot cup of tea or catch up with friends...
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Ava Unzueta
- Jul 31
Feasts of Persia
Farhad and Gianna Rahmani, who met working as real estate agents, always knew they wanted to work with family. Farhad loved food and even...
Tara Crutchfield
- May 29
Bandidas Bake Shop Opens Soon
The couple behind Lakeland’s favorite popup café is opening a bake shop! Gio and Gabriella Favilli-Vigoreaux have dreamed of opening a...
Tara Crutchfield
- May 28
Morena’s Restaurant Cafe
“My first memory of food was when I made rice with my grandmother back in the Dominican Republic. I was five years old,” Morena Mazorra...
Tara Crutchfield
- Apr 1
Love, Passion, and Skill on a Plate
I sit at a table beneath an oak tree at the Winter Haven Farmers Market. The music, breeze, and company are nice. I take a bite of Chef...
Tara Crutchfield
- Apr 1
Too Cool for School: InnerG Café
There’s a bright yellow school bus on the side of the road on the way to Lake Alfred that’ll teach you a thing or two about good vegan...
Tara Crutchfield
- Feb 1
Webb’s Candy Shop
“The fudge, there is so much touch and feel that goes into that,” said RJ Webb. “If you put it into the trough just a little too soon or...
Tara Crutchfield
- Feb 1
Mike & Mike’s Desserts
As a child, Mike & Mike’s Desserts Co-owner and CGO Mike Mitchell spent his time measuring and mixing with his mother in the kitchen –...
Tara Crutchfield
- Jan 2
Biscuits and Benedicts
Looking for homestyle cooking in charming downhome digs? You gotta risk it for the biscuit! Biscuits and Benedicts is one of Lakeland’s...
Tara Crutchfield
- Jan 2
Baking Donuts Plus
In an unassuming strip mall off Highway 17 in Winter Haven is a magical little donut shop with a frosting pink sign beckoning passersby...
Tara Crutchfield
- Nov 28, 2023
Crave & Copper
It’s been four years since Crave & Copper first opened their doors in downtown Auburndale. The concept was born from the Florida Brewery....
Tara Crutchfield
- Nov 1, 2023
Uncle Nick’s Italian Deli & Bagels
If you’ve enjoyed a fresh bagel at your local coffee shop, there’s a good chance it’s from this Lakeland deli. Off Old Road 37 is a...
Tara Crutchfield
- Nov 1, 2023
The Back Porch Restaurant
Drew Wales has a photo circa 1970s of him and his brother Justin selling peanuts for five cents a bag. Before 1985, five-cent peanuts...
Tara Crutchfield
- Sep 26, 2023
Cravin’ Haven
If you’re craving something, chances are it’s on the menu at Cravin’ Haven. This rotating menu food truck boasts “food with no borders”...
Tara Crutchfield
- Sep 26, 2023
The Cultivated Pig
Kevin Aydelott and Jimmy Fox, from different West Texas towns, met at church in 1998. They’ve been best friends ever since. Twenty-five...
Tara Crutchfield
- Aug 1, 2023
SoCe Market
Jacki Walston, of Adler’s Burgers fame, opened downtown Winter Haven’s only bodega earlier this year. The “Market South of Central”...
Tara Crutchfield
- Aug 1, 2023
WACO Kitchen
Diners at WACO Kitchen overlook the Lakeland Linder International Airport runway as planes taxi in and take off. A comfortable space to...
Tara Crutchfield
- Jun 29, 2023
Jude is for All
“I’ve never had a better cup of coffee.” Those words from a customer bring joy to Jude Coffee owner Jordan Willcox. He and his wife...
Gabriella Favilli-Vigoreaux
- May 31, 2023
Big Love Bake Sale
When pondering the grassroots potential of the bake sale, it’s hard not to think of Georgia Gilmore, the woman who fed and funded the...
Tara Crutchfield
- May 1, 2023
Calogero’s Pizzeria
In a small tidy kitchen off Highway 17 in Lake Alfred, Calogero “Charlie” Restivo makes the best pizza in Polk County. Over piping hot...
Tara Crutchfield
- May 1, 2023
Lakeland Ice Cream Company
If there’s anything that transcends age and occasion, it’s ice cream. Nine to 99, birthdays to ‘just because’ there’s nothing like...
Kelly Sanford
- Mar 31, 2023
Lucille’s American Café
Good. Vibes. Only. These words are illuminated in neon on the wall inside Lucille’s American Café and is exactly what you feel when you...
Tara Crutchfield
- Mar 30, 2023
Unfiltered Lakeland
When Geanie Folder walked into 801 E. Main, inspiration struck her like lightning. “I knew I could do something with the building,” she...
Tara Crutchfield
- Mar 1, 2023
Bandidas
The couple behind Bandidas pop-up café, Gio and Gabriella Favilli-Vigoreaux, could teach a masterclass in self-expression. Everything...
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