Best of ORL 2022: Food & Drink

From beers to ice cream and everything in between, here are our readers' favorites!

August 1, 2022

T. Michele Walker, Cynthia Van Gaasbeck,

(ROBERTO GONZALEZ)

Best Brewery

Hourglass Brewery

This local taproom sits in the heart of the Hourglass District where customers enjoy yoga on the patio while sampling their wide selection of delicious drinks.

What started with a love of craft beer and a small location in Longwood, Florida that comfortably sat approximately five people has grown into a 250-room taproom in Longwood and multiple locations in the Orlando area. We’re talking to Chauncey Felele, Taproom Manager at Hourglass Brewery, which has been voted Best Brewery in Orlando.

The kudos comes at an auspicious time, as the little-brewery-that-could celebrates a milestone. “We’re the second-oldest operating brewery in Orlando. We started in August of 2012, so we’re getting ready to celebrate our 10th anniversary for the brewery. We’re getting ready to celebrate our third anniversary in July for our Hourglass Brewery location.”

When the owner, Brett Mason, first came up with the idea for his brewery, it was an open market in Orlando, with Orlando Brewing being the only other craft brewery in the area. Brett knew there was room for one more.

(ROBERTO GONZALEZ)

Chauncey says the brewing community is supportive. “We send customers in the direction of other breweries all the time, but it’s a tight-knit community over here. That’s what helped us get through COVID.” And it was the customer support, and loyalty that saw the brewery through the dark times of the pandemic. “Even when they weren’t necessarily picking up beer, they’d come through and check up on us to see how we were doing and chat with us a bit. The community is fantastic.”

Chauncey is proud of the Hourglass Brewery and what they have to offer. “We have such a huge variety, and we’ve got something for everyone. We’re proud to display the 42 tabs because no matter what style of beer you like, we’ve got something for you. And if you’re not a huge beer drinker, chances are we have something for you, too.”

Brewery

1 Hourglass Brewing

Hourglass District, Orlando

hourglassbrewing.com

2 Ivanhoe Park Brewing Company

Ivanhoe District, Orlando

ivanhoeparkbrewing.com

3 BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse

Multiple locations

bjsrestaurants.com

Watering Hole

1 Whippoorwill Beer House & Package Store

The Milk District, Orlando

whippoorwillbeerhouse.com

2 Ivanhoe Park Brewing Company

Ivanhoe District, Orlando

ivanhoeparkbrewing.com

3 Bull & Bush

Orlando

bullandbushorlando.com

Wine Store

1 Tim’s Wine Market

Multiple locations

timswine.com

2 BevFly Wine Outlet

Orlando

bevfly.com

3 Total Wine

Multiple locations

totalwine.com

(GRIZZLEE MARTIN)

Best Community Coffee Spot

Foxtail Coffee Company

A tale of two lifelong friends and their love of a good cup of joe.

Little did Alex Tchekmeian and Iain Yeakle know when they met in kindergarten that they would be lifetime friends, business partners, and founders of Foxtail Coffee Company.

While traveling from city to city on tour, Alex was inspired by the idea of creating a new kind of coffee experience. “I’ve been in the music business my whole life,” explains Alex. “I would travel all over the world. We would see these different cafes throughout unique cities and decided to open a little coffee shop.”

Foxtail is ever-growing, bringing craft coffee to coffee lovers around the state and beyond. What started as a “little coffee shop” has now grown to an impressive 39 locations. “We have locations around the state of Florida, one in Georgia, and more opening in the southeast.”

Foxtail Coffee Co. has been brewing craft coffee throughout central Florida since 2016. Combining Alex’s business expertise and Iain’s decade of top-tiered coffee roaster experience, they founded Foxtail on the principles of roasting and serving great coffee in a comfortable and inviting environment.

“The most rewarding thing is to continue seeing the brand expand in new territories and see the community support. Being in Winter Park, where we live, and having this as our flagship location is very special to me.”