KISSIMMEE, Fla. – When WKMG announced it was hitting the road to Kissimmee, we asked what we should report on in your community.
Keri Woody said we should focus on the impact of tourism on the area.
ZIP Code 34744 is surrounded by theme parks.
Even though they are not technically in the ZIP code, SeaWorld and Disney’s parks are just north and northeast of the area.
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The closest theme parks to the zip are Fun Spot USA and Old Town.
News 6 found Old Town has a long history in the area, according to Old Town’s General Manager Thearon Scurlock.
“Next year we’ll celebrate 40 years,” Scurlock told News 6. " Before Old Town, there really wasn’t anything in this area in Kissimmee in general. When Old Town started, it was very unique. It was very different. It was very new for the area.”
Scurlock has been at the helm of the entertainment complex for nearly a decade. He says that unique footprint continues today with 18 acres of entertainment, six rides including a Ferris wheel, and 67 tenants on property.
“A lot of people connect to Old Town. When I meet people, they always tell me that they’ve been to Old Town. ‘Oh my gosh Old Town. Are you still doing the car shows?;” Scurlock said.
The weekly car shows are extremely popular. Fridays are Muscle Cars. The classic car shows that happen every Saturday draw people from all over Central Florida and have been happening now for 36 years.
“A lot of people come in from the surrounding areas, about half of our clientele is locals,” Scurlock said. “And we’ve never missed a Saturday in 36 years.”
Another thing that makes the property unique is many of the retailers also live in the area, according to Scurlock.
“Old Town doesn’t have any national retailers. So, all of our retailers are mom-and-pop. So everyone that is working in their store lives here, lives in the area, they support the area,” Scurlock said.
Their newest tenant, El Cilantrillo restaurant has three other locations around the Orlando area, but the owner, Hiram Turull, says he could not pass up an opportunity to open another at Old Town.
“Since I was even a teenager, my grandparents, they used to come to Old Town. This is a landmark in Florida,” Turull told News 6.
But bring your appetite, because the name in English means the house of the overeater, according to Turull.
“We sell exaggerated portions,” he said.
“There are many tourists that visit Old Town every year, but they have never visited Puerto Rico, so this is a great showcase of our Puerto Rican cuisine,” Turull said.
They promise the food is as popular as the fireworks that happen every year at Old Town on the Fourth of July and New Year’s Eve.
“Our idea here in Old Town is that we want it to be the ambassadors of Puerto Rican food,” Turull said.
Old Town is open daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
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