McKey Street serves up new eateries in Ocoee's growing downtown

Slowly but surely, the city of Ocoee has grown into the third-biggest city in Orange County, by population, and as the city grows, so does the interest of businesses looking to set up shop in the area. 

Earlier in 2024, two local establishments announced they would be coming to the small downtown area of Ocoee on McKey Street. Antojitos Loco’s is a family-owned taco food truck that is opening a brick-and-mortar location. Wine O’Clock Bistro is an expansion concept to the already-popular downtown shop Bike Life Café.

Wine O’Clock owner Renata Azevedo describes the vision of the expansion as a welcoming — yet affordable — experience. 

“Our vision is to make Wine O’Clock Bistro a beautiful and welcoming place … where we can continue to bring people together to enjoy themselves and bring others while always keeping a family-oriented environment (by) offering great food, wines and a unique wine bar experience,” Azevedo said. “We believe Wine O’Clock Bistro will bring lots of visitors to the area.”

These announcements and the anticipated openings of these establishments have shined a light on the growing downtown section of the city.

“It’s great to see the growth in Ocoee, especially in the downtown Mckey Street area,” Azevedo said. “We started the bicycle shop almost five years ago, when there was only us and a couple of other businesses. We were concerned but decided to take the chance, because we had a vision of what it could become. A couple of years later, we integrated Bike Life Café to the front of the bicycle shop. … We’re so grateful for this amazing community for their support and encouragement.”

With the continued success of the downtown’s current shops, such as Bike Life Café, DG Doughnuts, Pelican’s SnoBalls and Toll Road Brewing Company, more businesses will be sure to follow in the future. 

Ocoee Mayor Rusty Johnson, a resident of the city for more than five decades, wants to see downtown continue to grow while maintaining its small-town charm.

“When I got in office back in 1985, Ocoee was a quiet kind of a private, easygoing place,” Johnson said. “When I came back home from the Army, everything was starting to just go … and everything changed a bit and it grew. Ocoee has really become a good place to live. It’s close to Orlando, close to the airport, and things have started to move in the right direction in the past years.

“We’re trying to grow the city in our way,” Johnson said. “Still having a great little town, where people can feel like they live within an area that they are safe, that they can go to work, and work locally, not having to travel too much. A place where their kids can get jobs. And that’s what’s happened over the years. We’ve just gradually moved in the right direction.”

With the new businesses coming and new infrastructure on Oakland Avenue, Johnson expects the area to grow even more in the coming years.

“I honestly believe that when we get Oakland Street started, which is coming soon, and we’re able to get some more shops put in over there, things are going to change a lot in the downtown area,” Johnson said. “With the new couple of restaurants that are coming to downtown — the wine bar, which I know they’ll serve food also … and the Mexican restaurant coming down the corner — when we get Oakland Street set with their shops, we’re going to be going in the right direction.”

Johnson’s vision for the downtown area in the near future is music to the ears of Ocoee’s current small-business owners. 

“We’d like to see the continued growth and have other small businesses moving in but yet keeping the community-oriented lifestyle,” Azevedo said. “We’re hoping to see a connection to the bicycle trail which should bring more families and a more active lifestyle.”

Although these highly anticipated locations have been in the works for a few months, there is no set date for either business to open. 

“We’re extremely close,” Azevedo said. “We’re working hard and efficiently to make everything, abiding by the rules and regulations for a safe environment. We’ll keep constantly updating our social media as to our target opening date.”

For those who are interested in learning more about the two new restaurants coming to downtown Ocoee and remaining updated, you can follow their social media pages.  

For Wine O’Clock Bistro, its Instagram handle is @WineOClockBistro and its Facebook page can be found at this link: Wine O’Clock Bistro. 

For Antojitos Loco’s, its Instagram is @Antojitos_locos_fl and its Facebook page can be found at this link: Antojitos Loco’s.