Lakeland's vacant Dixieland gas station prepares for new tenants. Foodies, here's a peek
A long-vacant flower shop on South Florida Avenue may be redesigned to serve as home of two new novelty food destinations.
The vintage 1930s gas station at 1212 S. Florida Ave. hasn't welcome any visitors since roughly 2019, when Petals The Flower Shoppe closed its doors. Last October, the property was purchased by New Petals LLC, registered to William H. Harrell, according to Sunbiz.org.
Alex Delannoy, representing the developer New Petals, presented proposed plans to Lakeland Community Redevelopment Agency on Thursday afternoon to secure $75,000 in grants toward property improvements to split the property for two incoming businesses.
Delannoy said he has two executed leases for the property: one for an established ice cream shop, Bright Ice Scoop Shop, and a new wine bar and possible cellar concept run by a Lakeland native.
The homemade ice cream and coffee shop would be Bright Ice's fifth location since the business launched out of Tampa Bay in 2019. Its menu includes small-batch handcrafted ice creams, espresso-based drinks, pastries, milk shakes and merchandise, according to the Lakeland CRA's documents. It would take up about 1,000 square feet of the existing space.
"It's similar to MayDay, very homemade, different flavors," Delannoy said, referring to the ice cream shop in The Joinery.
The Ledger has attempted to reach out to Bright Ice owners for comment and they could not be immediately reached.
The second business would be a new venture, according to Delannoy, who is working with a Lakeland native who moved to California to pursue a career in wine. The unnamed individual has about 30 years experience in the wine industry that she'd like to bring back to her hometown.
"Her dream has been to come back and live here, open her shop," Delannoy said.
He used the term "wine garden" to describe a multi-facted business that would include a wine shop with possible bar up front, also offering a variety of cheeses, charcuterie and other gourmet food items. This business would rent approximately 3,000-square-feet of the space, separate from the ice cream shop.
The $75,000 in CRA grants will be used to help offset costs of the exterior façade and site improvements, estimated to total $347,050 to renovate the property for new tenants.
Delannoy mentioned he is also working with co-owners of Biscuits and Benedicts, a neighboring brunch spot that suddenly closed its doors in late February, to find potential new tenants. "The Biscuits and Benedicts' family have made a decision due to a medical issue to close our doors," reads the company's Feb. 20 Facebook post. "Thank you so much for your patronage. It has been an absolute pleasure to serve you breakfast, brunch, and lunch every day."Delannoy said he was meeting with three interested parties Friday, coordinated by Lakeland Economic Development Council, who are "solid restaurant operators." The concept will likely not be the same as Biscuits and Benedicts, he said, but promised it would be someone local with a solid concept not a chain franchise.
IAnother noteworthy Lakeland restaurant has successfully launched out of the Dixieland space, as it was once home to Nineteen61 from December 2015 through roughly April 2019.
Sara-Megan Walsh can be reached at swalsh@theledger.com or 863-802-7545. Follow on X @SaraWalshFl.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Restaurant news: Old flower shop will be home to two new eateries
