The Heavy opens in Winter Park

There’s a new occupant in the old Lombardi’s Seafood building in Winter Park — and she’s ready to get started. 

The Heavy, a new multi-purpose venue, opened recently at 1152 Harmon Ave. Currently, the location is selling home décor items and potted plants. But to owner and proprietor Jennifer Crotty, it’s also much more. 

“It’s an environment you enjoy being in,” she said. “It’s a place where you can experience things or shop or eat or drink or hang.”

Crotty and her husband have been hard at work getting the idea off the ground since the beginning of this year. She said she has had a crush on the location while working in Winter Park for years.

The Heavy will be hosting pop-up eateries, as well. Swine & Sons, Hunger Street Tacos and possibly more will be selling some of their cuisine part-time at the location. 

Crotty also hopes to bring in coffee, beer and wine offerings — her husband collaborates with brewers across the world — at some point the future. She said staff is working on a menu to take to the city for permits. 

Crotty, who also owns Porch Therapy in the East End Market, moved some of her workers and plants to the new building. Eryn Pasternak, who oversees Porch Therapy’s business with weddings and events, also has assumed a project manager role for the new concept.

The location hosted a soft opening in early August, with Crotty and staff inviting friends and community members to check out the new shop.

“It’s been really nice to see how people are responding and reacting to the space,” Pasternak said. “We just wanted a space for people to come and celebrate and gather.”

Customers also can take a crack at the floral bar and create their own boutiques of different flora. A happy-hour promotion during which people can share flower buckets is also in the works. Although Crotty stresses The Heavy isn’t an event space, she hopes the location will be able to host small events and workshops. 

Rather than being an event venue or a food hall, Crotty views The Heavy as more of an open-ended, evolving concept. Although it currently sells home décor items and potted planets, Crotty said she is open to incorporating more elements into the space. But the business as it stands is what Crotty had in her mind’s eye. 

“It’s how I’ve done everything already,” Crotty said. “If it’s gonna work out, it’s gonna work out. I don’t want to force it. With the building, we didn’t know how it was going to feel. We had design ideas, but the more we were in here, the more we realized it was really rustic, and we didn’t want to go against that.”

IF YOU GO

The Heavy

1152 Harmon Ave., Winter Park

HOURS: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays

FACEBOOK: facebook.com/theheavywp

WEBSITE: theheavywp.com