The process was unconventional, but the end result will be a major upgrade for downtown Orlando’s West Colonial Corridor.
The city’s Appearance Review Board unanimously approved the design for a new restaurant that will replace the former Burger King at 744 W. Colonial Dr. after the owner’s contractor razed the building without permits in May.
Amit Kumar, a Michelin-award-winning chef, purchased the former fast-food restaurant and initially planned a $1.5 million renovation to convert the building into a commissary and test kitchen for his expanding portfolio of Indian restaurants. The city issued a stop-work order on the project after the contract demolished the building and started construction on a new one without a building permit.
A cyclist looks at the construction site at 744 West Colonial Drive, on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. The city issued a stop-work order last week after the owner demolished the former Burger King building and began construction without permits. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)
ARB Director Richard Forbes told GrowthSpotter most, if not all, of the concrete block structure will have to come down because it was built without inspections, and it doesn’t comply with the new site plan. “The city wanted him to get rid of the curb cut where the drive-thru lane was, so he redesigned the building to be L-shaped,” Forbes said.
The new design calls for a pair of doors and steps leading to the sidewalk on Colonial, but the main entrance will be from the parking lot. The building exterior will utilize Fresco Terrazzo decorative plaster wall treatments in smoky gray at the corners, with tongue and groove simulated wood siding in the center, beige stucco with vertical ridges on each doorway, and matte black trim for the awnings and along the roofline.
“It’s a really nice design,” board member Cecelia Maier said. “I really appreciate your work.”
Chef Amit Kumar said the new restaurant design would be minimal so as not to compete with the farm-to-table concept. (Rendering by A Designer Concepts)
The west elevation incorporates a large niche for a future piece of wall art next to the main entrance. Kumar told the ARB the wall art would be a metal cut or wood design with special lighting.
“Very minimal,” he said. “We’re still working on that design because that’s going to take little bit more time.”
The approval included a condition that the same exterior finishes be continued on the east elevation of the building. Another condition is that Kumar extend the sidewalk to the existing retaining wall and enhance the landscaping along Colonial.
The new site plan also calls for a second, smaller building to be built in the southwest corner of the site as part of a later phase. Forbes said that the second building will require a separate appearance review.
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