The cinnamon-laced sweet rolls are still fabulously sticky and the menu is almost identical to the Brian's you may remember at 1409 N. Orange Ave., near downtown.
Brian Zipper is running the show with his mother, Sydele Homel, keeping a watchful eye on the place that made her late husband a local restaurant icon.
Paul Homel, who died in 2003, was known for offering home-cooked meals at restaurants he opened during a career that spanned almost 40 years in Central Florida. He opened Paul's Char Broil in Coytown Plaza on East Colonial Drive in 1969. When Homel later opened the first Brian's Restaurant on South Semoran Boulevard, he named it after the son who had worked alongside him since high school. The two also operated Brian's Restaurants at Dean Road and State Road 50 and at Summerlin Avenue and East Colonial Drive before moving to the current location at Orange Avenue and Virginia Drive more than 30 years ago.
The Brian's near downtown immediately became a quiet power lunch spot. It may not have had the cache of the Citrus Club but it was a place where politicos would huddle over eggs and caffeine in the morning and open-face sandwiches, melts and burgers at lunch.
The extended renovation didn't break up the Brian's family, says Sydele Homel. "We opened with our original cooks and waitresses. One waitress left but I was able to fill that spot with someone who had worked at our other restaurants years ago."
Brian's fans didn't give up either. I have fielded calls weekly about the fate of Brian's for almost a year.
"I had no experience building anything," says Sydele Homel. "I had no idea that it would take so long for permits, construction and inspections. But we stuck with it and Brian's is back in business." The restaurant reopened Aug. 12.
Subs have fallen off the menu because, Homel said, we "just felt that there were too many places where people can get subs today." And the menu now includes dinner.
The opened-face roast beef sandwich ($7.25) and the home-style meatloaf ($7.95) are both still a plate full of comfort. Our sandwich rose from spongy white bread topped with tender meat and finished with a generous mound of from-scratch mashed potatoes. The thick slice of meatloaf, which came with two sides and a choice of soup or salad, had a wonderful sauce that my dining companion sopped up with the accompanying roll. I was impressed with the meatloaf's texture. The ground meat was compact, but not overworked, and nicely seasoned.
We headed out the with a to-go order of warm sweet rolls ($2.85 for three, $5 for seven, $8.25 for a dozen). Five minutes after we were back in the office the only thing that remained of the signature treats were the guilty, contented smiles of my co-workers.
Welcome back, Brian's. You were missed.
hmcpherson@tribune.com, 407-420-5498
Brian's Restaurant
Where: 1409 N. Orange Ave., Orlando (at Virginia Drive)
When: 6 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, Monday and Tuesday; and 6 a.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday
How much: $3.50-$13
Extras: Takeout, outdoor dining
Beverages: Soft drinks, beer and wine
Wheelchair access: Good
Payment: Cash, major credit cards
Call: 407-601-5944
Online: No website, but there is Facebook fan group
