Following the success of his F&D Woodfired Italian Kitchen in Orlando’s Hourglass/Curry Ford West district, owner Charly Robinson is planning a second location for Longwood. In a press release, Robinson, who also owns F&D Kitchen and Bar and F&D Cantina, both in Lake Mary, will take over the space that was previously home to Bayridge Sushi on State Road 434.

In a related note, Bayridge Sushi has left its original home on S.R. 434 and now occupies a spot nearby behind a McDonald’s.

F&D Woodfired Kitchen opened in late 2018, replacing a very short lived Peppino’s Organic Italian Pizzeria & Kitchen. The freestanding building has housed a number of restaurants over the years, mostly featuring Latin American cuisine. Most of those, too, were short lived.

One of the reasons, arguably, that Robinson was able to make a go of it here when others failed is that he increased the seating capacity, adding a covered patio to supplement the small inside dining area. Whether a restaurant survives is often a matter of doing the math. More seats, more profit.

Another reason F&DWIK is doing so well is that it serves good food. It has been critically well recieved and continues to maintain the high quality it had when it opened.

The Longwood location is aiming for a spring 2020 opening.