Fifth Avenue Streatery delights with Southern fusion and local charm

Cindy Peterson
·2 min read

Fifth Avenue Streatery in Mount Dora is truly a unique experience. At first look, you’ll notice that the restaurant is a renovated gas station from the 1970s, and the restaurant offers only outdoor dining with misters to keep cool. But even more unique is the menu, which offers a twist on southern favorites.

Owners Tim Habjan and Deborah McGann opened this charming eatery in 2019, after their own careers in the restaurant industry.

Owners Tim Habjan and Deborah McGann opened this charming eatery, the Fifth Avenue Streatery, in 2019, after their own careers in the restaurant industry.
Owners Tim Habjan and Deborah McGann opened this charming eatery, the Fifth Avenue Streatery, in 2019, after their own careers in the restaurant industry.

“We met in The Villages while working in the industry, and decided to start a restaurant together,” McGann says. “I had worked restaurants in Chicago, Orlando, Gainesville and he [Habjan] has experience in the country clubs, so it just worked.”

Since getting past the Covid-19 pandemic, the eatery has been more popular than ever. Being an outdoor establishment helped get them through, with the love and support from the community.

“We were surprisingly busy and made a lot of longtime customers during that time,” McGann said.

On the menu, the crab cakes are high on the list as a community favorite. It offers a fresh-made Maryland style jumbo lump crab cake, served with Remi sauce and a Southern style Caprese salad.

The Southerner at the Fifth Avenue Streatery features a 100 percent Florida-raised beef patty topped with fried green tomato, piquillo pimento cheese, lettuce, onion and house-made Remi sauce.
The Southerner at the Fifth Avenue Streatery features a 100 percent Florida-raised beef patty topped with fried green tomato, piquillo pimento cheese, lettuce, onion and house-made Remi sauce.

Then there’s tacos with choice of steak, grilled chicken, shrimp, fish or vegetarian style, along with sandwiches like the drunken steer, which is a toasted roll filled with shaved beef and topped with sautéed onion and house-made beer cheese.

Burgers are also popular, made with 100 percent hormone-free Florida raised beef. Build your own or try their signature Southerner, topped with fried green tomato, piquillo pimento cheese, and house-made Remi sauce. The Mount Dora burger, however, has the community sold with its deep fried goat cheese, bacon onion jam, arugula and pesto cream sauce on top of the juicy patty.

Other menu options include all beef Diggity dogs, salads, ahi tuna, Mediterranean skirt steak, fish and chips and more. Don’t forget dessert with options like a flourless chocolate cake, NY cheesecake and banana fosters crepe.

The restaurant offers numerous vegetarian and gluten-free options as well as daily specials.

Fifth Avenue Streatery, 846 E. Fifth Ave. in Mount Dora, is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Fifth Avenue Streatery, 846 E. Fifth Ave. in Mount Dora, is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

On Sundays, breakfast has been added from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., with a twist on popular breakfast foods. There's fried Texas French toast, eggs Benedict, potato pancakes, house-made corned beef hash, and a variety of signature omelettes you won’t find at IHOP.

Fifth Avenue Streatery, 846 E. Fifth Ave. in Mount Dora, is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. For more information, visit www.fifthavenuestreatery.com.

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Mount Dora restaurant made it through Covid and now is thriving