The General Public House replaced in Town Center, Villagio gets retro arcade

As The General Public House exits, a handful of new businesses are slated to move into Winter Springs after a development-heavy City Commission meeting Monday.

The Fork & Barrel bar and restaurant is coming to the Winter Springs Town Center, replacing a community favorite, The General Public House. And Perfect Pours Taproom in The Villagio shopping center is getting replaced with a retro gaming arcade.

The Winter Springs City Commission unanimously approved a right of way use agreement for the upcoming Fork & Barrel restaurant in the Winter Springs Town Center. The agreement will allow the restaurant to have outdoor seating at its location, 156 Tuskawilla Drive.

“I’m thankful a restaurant is moving in,” Deputy Mayor Matt Benton said. 

“We just want to make sure a wheelchair or baby stroller can get through,” Mayor Kevin McCann added. “I’m absolutely in favor of this project; sir, you’ve done a great job with The Public House, and I’m looking forward to whatever you do there and supporting your business.”

Owner Chris Parsons opened The General Public House in Winter Springs in 2017. He told city commissioners he originally had no intention of selling The General Public House; he had actually closed for a month to do repairs to the building. 

“I had an individual come to me, it was not listed for sale, I had zero intention of selling, but to be quite honest, I was just made an offer I could not refuse,” Parsons said. “If I didn’t sell the restaurant, I still think I would have rolled this concept out here to replace The General Public House.”

The new restaurant is called Fork & Barrel. According to its website, it will offer “fresh fish, succulent steaks, gourmet burgers, crisp salads, and an exceptional array of craft beers, bourbons and wines.” You can view the menu here. 

It’s not related to an existing Fork & Barrel restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky. 

Parsons told commissioners he has all of his licenses needed to open at this point, and expects to be open in the next three weeks. 

“I will have the vast majority of my previous staff coming back,” Parsons said. “I was hoping to do some kind of soft grand opening that’s limited to Winter Springs residents. So if you want to make a reservation you would have to have a Winter Springs address.”

In an interview with Oviedo Community News, Parsons said the new owner will continue to operate the New Smyrna Beach location of The General Public House.

Retro arcade for all ages coming to Villagio

Additionally, city commissioners approved a retro arcade to come into Suite 1137 of Villagio Shopping Mall at 855 East State Road 434. The owners are Sasha and John Pyle. 

The site was formerly Perfect Pours Taproom, and will have a small bar and kitchen. According to city documents, it must not have slot machines or gambling devices, and it must close by midnight.

“There’s a model where a lot of people in their 20s and 30s want to play online video games, but don’t want to play at home, they want to play in a community,” Commissioner Cade Resnick said Monday. “This will become their community.” 

The concept is similar to Arcade Monsters in Oviedo and on International Drive. Sasha Pyle told commissioners the plan is to charge an entrance fee of $15 or $20, but certain members of the community — like first responders — would get in for free. “The games are on free play,” she told commissioners Monday. 

“What’s different is we’re catering to all ages, whereas [Arcade Monsters] doesn’t necessarily cater to the younger kids, I’m talking like the 3-year-olds,” Sasha Pyle said at December’s Planning and Zoning meeting. “We have games that are interactive learning games for them as well.”

According to documents related to the development, the site will have pinball machines, racing simulators and classic arcade games. There will also be areas for modern games on Xbox, Switch and computer games, and a room for birthday parties. 

“We will be partnering with Marco’s Pizza for our events and birthday parties,” the owners wrote in a letter to the city. “They will be our exclusive pizza option and part of our birthday party package. Customers from both (no closed) Red Eye’s (Git – N – Messy Smokehouse and Tavern) and Señor Tequila (Mexican Grill) can enjoy their dine-in experience and play at ours all day!”

Owner John Pyle has been livestreaming his gaming for the last 15 years. 

“We’re gonna have classes to show kids who want to learn how to broadcast, how to livestream, all the tools and we’re gonna have classes for that,” Pyle said in December.