New eatery offers a bite of the Big Apple in Winter Garden

A new eatery in downtown Winter Garden will offer residents the chance to take a few bites out of the Big Apple.

N.Y. Bagel — Deli & Diner will be opening up in downtown Winter Garden at 126 W. Plant St. The grand opening of Winter Garden’s newest deli is planned for this spring, and a soft opening will be coming sooner. The restaurant is co-owned by father-daughter duo Lonny and Kayla McDougal.

“We’re bringing a New York concept down to (Winter Garden),” Lonny McDougal said. “You’ll go home full from one of our sandwiches. That’s one of the things that we’re doing; pretty much anything and everything that’s big in New York is coming here.” 

Like the name entails, N.Y. Bagel — Deli & Diner will serve up an array of iconic eats from New York City, and much of the products sold will be brought straight from the Big Apple. From signature deli sandwiches like a pastrami on rye to breakfast favorites like Jersey Taylor Ham or lox and bagels, N.Y. Bagel — Deli & Diner aims to offer something to please any palate. Customer experience also will be a key aspect of N.Y. Bagel — Deli & Diner — the restaurant will be adding to its menu with input from guests, Lonny McDougal said.

“We’re bringing a lot from New York,” Lonny McDougal said. “A simple thing that you can’t find anywhere — for 25 years I’ve been looking — in Florida is a bacon, egg and cheese or a ham, egg and cheese sandwich on a bagel or on a roll in the morning. You can’t find it here — I haven’t been able to find it anywhere. It’s a simple thing, but you can’t find it in Florida and we’re bringing that. That’s a big deal to us.

“This is just the beginning,” Lonny McDougal added. “From here, we’re going to build on the menu. … What Winter Garden wants is what they’ll get.”

In addition to the sandwiches, the restaurant also will offer more than 25 different flavors of New York-style bagels that customers can buy as a single bagel, half dozen or dozen. An assortment of spreads and different flavors of cream cheese also will be sold to complement the bagels. For those with a sweet tooth, N.Y. Bagel — Deli & Diner also will serve Italian pastries.

“(The bagels) are hand-rolled and then cooked up in New York,” Lonny McDougal said. “Then, they’re actually put in a frozen truck, brought down and we complete them … and cook them here so they’re fresh every day. It’s a big variety (of flavors).”

Lonny McDougal said they decided to bring the deli to Winter Garden because of the demand from local residents. He has another restaurant location for N.Y. Bagel & Deli in Orlando, and said many Winter Gardeners would travel to that spot to get their fix of New York City cuisine.

“We’re coming to Winter Garden because the people of Winter Garden actually invited us,” Lonny McDougal said, adding that he opened the Orlando location in November and has already seen customers from Winter Garden.