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 food. Eimi El serves 100 percent plant-based comfort food with soy-free and gluten-free options from her converted school bus food truck. El, from North Carolina, moved to Florida in 2000 and has lived in Davenport since 2018. “I wanted to be vegan 20 years ago when nobody was vegan,” she remembered. The only meat replacement she could find at

Edward and Ednamay Wales bought a 120-acre property in Lake Alfred during the 1950s. They moved their family from Winter Haven to live among the massive pines and sprawling pastures of the country. Around 1960, Ednamay, described by her great-granddaughter, Ansley Wales, as “a force of nature,” decided the local children needed something fun to do during the summertime. Edward, a citrus broker by day, built a lodge and locker rooms to start a day camp called the Lazy W Ranch

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 were all the sustenance one could get visiting The Barn. And let’s be honest, shopping can work up quite the appetite. “People were coming from all over, and Dad figured they needed a place to eat,” Drew said. So, Tom and Jan opened the Back Porch Restaurant with a picnic lunch theme, harkening to the ranch’s Lazy W roots. The perfect accompan

In a small tidy kitchen off Highway 17 in Lake Alfred, Calogero “Charlie” Restivo makes the best pizza in Polk County. Over piping hot espressos, Charlie dished about his background, to-die-for dough, and the joy he gets creating a memorable guest experience. A thirty-year culinary veteran and first-generation Italian American, Restivo hails from Queens, New York. He grew up in a predominantly Italian neighborhood. “That’s where I started working in pizzerias and delis as a

A waterskiing and wakeboarding legend turned towed water sport exponent, Zane Schwenk got his start in a unique after-school program. The Sarasota native said casually, “I was in a circus as a kid, which was weird and fun.” The young adrenaline junkie dove into acrobatics, the flying trapeze, and the teeterboard, and by 12 years old, he had a 12-foot unicycle. Nothing too crazy happened at the circus, Schwenk said, well, except for that one time four lions chased him in South

Florals, frills, and a quiet elegance permeate the atmosphere at Lavender ‘n Lace Tearoom & Restaurant in Lake Alfred. The family-owned tearoom is a whimsical world all its own. An ancient oak with twisted, wide-reaching limbs shades the side lawn. The outdoor garden blooms with flowers of every color and variety and a shimmering koi pond by which to reflect. The brick-lined courtyard furnished with bistro tables is a paradisal place to listen to the garden’s wind chimes and

What is it that draws us to the macabre? What makes us peer in from the outside, at a distance, safely removed from events so terrible and tragic, bloody and grim? For the creator, producer, and co-host of the Scarlet True Crime Podcast Sonia Sutton Meza-Leon, it’s all about curiosity, with one question at the forefront – ‘Why?’ Born and raised in Lake Alfred, Sonia went to Auburndale High School, attended Polk Community College to spend time with their theatrical team, and b

Growing Macadamia in Central Florida Lake Alfred macadamia farmer and owner of the Florida Macadamia Growers Cooperative, Glenn Reynolds’ first taste of farming was spicy. As a kid, he would grow hot peppers to eat. It wouldn’t be until years later, that a failing citrus grove and parrot food would lead Reynolds to set out on a nearly 15-year journey to crack the secret to growing macadamia nuts in Florida. Reynolds was born in Wilmington, North Carolina. His family moved whe