Dexter Richardson – Dexter is credited in the wine community for bringing “The Wine Bar” concept to Orlando. In 1981 Dexter worked at the Wine Warehouse in Winter Park. In 1984 he wanted to bring a wine bar to Orlando so he opened the first Dexter’s next to the 7-11 on Park Avenue. It was a small 900 square foot space that had a small wine by the glass list with some pastas and soups. In 1988 he outgrew the small space and moved to a much bigger space on Fairbanks Avenue. He opened it with John Hoffmeister and John Washburn as bartenders, and Tim Varan ran the wine shop. Obviously, Dexter was a great mentor and an incubator as John Hoffmeister is the General Manager of the Lake Mary location and John Washburn and Tim Varan have moved into successful businesses of their own. Today, Dexter’s has grown to four locations around Central Florida and is definitely a great neighborhood hangout where good food, good wine and good times are had by all.