WINTER PARK — TV celebrity chef Mario Pagán will soon start serving what he calls “my way of thinking about Latin food” at a new restaurant named Chayote in Winter Park Village.
The restaurant from Pagán, known for competing on Food Network’s “Next Iron Chef” and his acclaimed establishment that carries his name in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is the latest upgrade in a $50 million transformation of the shopping and dining complex.
Pagán and co-owner David Tyson expect Chayote to open in the next few weeks. It has taken over the space that was once home to Crispers across from the Cheesecake Factory.
The massive investment in Winter Park Village’s makeover helped secure the high-end restaurant, Tyson said.
“We’re a modern Latino experience, and we want to be in a modern center that has a great, warm, modern feeling, not tired,” Tyson said.
Most of the facade and street work will be finished in the next few weeks, said Brett Hutchens, president of Casto Southeast, which owns Winter Park Village with the Nikitine family.
Work on the Regal movie theater will likely take until Thanksgiving, and a remodel of the Cheesecake Factory space also is being planned.
“We’re on the two-yard line,” Hutchens said, or “certainly the five-yard line.”
A few more new businesses also are still on the way, including the Tommy Bahama Marlin Bar that Hutchens said could open in January.
The 5,500-square-foot Chayote will offer up a menu of high-end Latin cuisine done Pagán’s way. It is the chef’s first restaurant in Florida, but Pagán and Tyson emphasize that even though Pagán is from Puerto Rico, Chayote is not a Puerto Rican restaurant.
“I love authentic Latin food, but this is not that. This is my interpretation of my way of thinking about Latin food,” Pagán said. “It’s a very French-based way of cooking, but putting all these Latin flavors into play.”
As one example, the menu will include an angus ribeye with corn macaroni and cheese.
“We went a little bit Mexican on that with the mac and cheese,” Pagán said. “We have some cotija cheese in there and some fresh corn.”
There will be croquetas with coconut shrimp, guava and avocado. And there’s also his sea bass, which Pagán calls his “staple item.”
“It’s been with me for 20-something years,” he said. “People are going to ask for it, so might as well have it on the menu.”
Chayote will initially only be open for dinner, with late night hours until midnight on Friday and Saturday, but will eventually add Sunday brunch, Tyson said.
Another factor in Pagán opening a restaurant in Winter Park Village was his friendship with Vadim Nikitine.
The Nikitine family business, a real estate investment company also from Puerto Rico, bought the Winter Park Mall in the 1980s before partnering with Casto Southeast in the 1990s to turn the mall into Winter Park Village.
“[Vadim Nikitine] called me up, out of the blue during COVID, and he told me, ‘Listen, someone told me that you’ve been around Winter Park looking for a space. I have one for you,'” Pagán said. “That’s how it all started.”
Pagán noted other high-profile chefs opening restaurants in Orlando, including plans for a Disney Springs restaurant from “Chopped” judge Maneet Chauhan, who Pagán competed with on “Next Iron Chef.”
“Orlando has a lot of growth,” Pagán said.
Other changes at Winter Park Village include the Ruth’s Chris Steak House moving last year across the parking lot to a new restaurant with a white and gray brick exterior featuring slick red and black elements.
New eateries such as Crisp & Green and Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams have also opened up.
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Construction over the last couple of years did hurt sales at The Hangry Bison restaurant, which opened there in 2018, said owner Joe Liguori. But he is positive about the outcome.
“It was long and it was hard, and we had to adjust our operations to accommodate it, but most of us are smart enough to see what is coming, what’s about to get launched here,” Liguori said.
He noted the expanded greenspace and new stage near his business.
“I think the landlord’s got guts,” Liguori said. “I think he did what was necessary for the property.”
One of the Hangry Bison’s customers, Lake Mary resident Mike Lodge, also liked how things turned out.
“I remember when it was the Winter Park Mall, as well, and then I remember when it switched to the Winter Park Village, the first iteration, which was OK,” he said. “There were a number of restaurants and so forth, [but] this I think is great. … It really looks good.”
afuller@orlandosentinel.com
