Orlando This Week: Budget Worries, Beignets and a Coffee Union

A shorter list this week, but each one hits close to home: a tax change that could reach your neighborhood services, a Winter Park coffee shop's staff making a move, and two new places to eat and drink.

City Hall

Orlando's leaders are bracing for Amendment 3, which is expected to cut property taxes and leave local governments with less money for services. News 6 reports that Commissioner Patty Sheehan told this week's City Council meeting she was crushed when it passed, and that voters may not have thought through what lower tax revenue means for city budgets.

Dyer added that trimming and tightening alone won't cover the hit to the city's discretionary money, so harder choices are likely coming. Worth watching as budget talks get going.

Coffee and Labor

Employees at Austin's Coffee in Winter Park are looking to unionize, Orlando Weekly reports. The shop lost its old spot after the city bought the property, then reopened under new ownership just down the street in January thanks to a community push to keep it alive.

New Spots on the Way

• Ravah Culinary Emporium is set to open at 8800 Seidel Road in Horizon West sometime this month, according to Orlando Weekly. It's a bakery, coffee house, market, butcher shop and restaurant rolled into one, pulling from Brazilian, Spanish and Italian cooking.

• Beignets & Brew is preparing a Winter Park location at 501 North Orlando Avenue in the Center of Winter Park, What Now Orlando reports. Expect New Orleans-style beignets and specialty coffee; there's no opening date yet, and the Florida company already runs spots in Orlando, Destin, Fort Walton Beach and Tallahassee.

Orlando Weekly's full openings roundup has more new arrivals, including Pakistani street food and rock-star-named burgers, if you're hunting for your next lunch.