Orlando, FL – Finding kosher food on your next Disney World vacation will soon be much easier, thanks to the initiative of the World Gate Hotel and Conference Center in Kissimmee and Cohen’s Kosher Deli in Clermont which have teamed up to create and open a kosher hotel in Orlando in time for Rosh Hashanah.
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South Lake Press writes (http://bit.ly/PFnNm5) that Justin and Angela Cohen have brought on Rabbis Yosef Konikov and Sholom Dubov to consult and supervise on what they hope will ultimately be three restaurants on the premises – only two of which will be kosher (meat and dairy). The mashgiachs will remain on site at all times, even on Shabbos and holidays.
The World Gate Hotel, which was recently bought by three Orthodox Jews from Miami and is located near Disney’s Animal Kingdom, will have 480 rooms (100 of which will have mezuzahs affixed to the door); a kosher wine cellar; a shul on premises with daily minyanim and holiday services; a beit midrash; daycare; and banquet halls for meetings, weddings, or conventions. Shuttle service will also be made available to and from Disney World and Universal Studios.
The Hotel expects some of their most lucrative business to come from the yeshiva students who visit Orlando on winter break, usually at the end of January and into early February. During that period, the Cohens plan to offer hot, buffet-style food to the teens. “Kosher travelers often have to work extra hard to make their trips to Orlando successful ones.” Justin Cohen said. “This will make for one-stop-shop travel for an observant tourist. You come to Orlando to relax; not to work.”
Cohen also plans to market the kosher food to religious Jews staying at Disney hotels. He estimates that 2.3 percent of the people who visit the Disney theme parks each year eat kosher. “If you think about it, 2.3 percent of 90 million people is a lot,” he said.
Free kosher food delivery service will also be available to those in the parks, or kosher-eating tourists can pick up their food in advance at the hotel, which will also have a kosher supermarket on the premises. “It’s hard to find kosher in certain places,” he explained. “It’s not hard in New York. It’s not hard in South Miami or Chicago, but it’s hard here. But they (people) don’t have to worry. We will make it easy for families to satisfy their dietetic needs while traveling.”
I hope it’s not one of these deals where its exremely expensive, people get fed up and it closes.
the Cohens plan to offer hot, buffet-style food to the teens. “
I hope the Cohens will not offer ALL YOU CAN EAT because if so they will lose their shirts. Just look at any free kiddush on Shabbos.
We ate at Cohen’s Deli when we were in Orlando and the food was great. I wish them much hatzlocha
Good luck and let’s hope they succeed, but everyone should know there are already a bunch of kosher restaurants in Orlando. We ate at one on Palm Parkway, just a couple of hundred feet from our hotel (pure luck, there.. the Clarion Inn Lake Buena Vista) “http://www.kosherorlando.com/” , which also includes a shul and… had a succah out front during Succoth.
Cohen’s are nice people and charge fair prices, in fact, lower than NY. Justin has his head on straight and understands what the Kosher consumer wants.
Starwoods? then we’ll all be there otherwise dont bother
Cohen’s Deli in Clermont has great food and reasonable prices. If he copies that model in his new Hotel it will be a smashing success.
I go to Orlando often. I have recently had two trips there and both times we ate at Cohen’s Deli every single night. Their food is not only delicious but generously portioned and moderately priced (I live in Brooklyn NY so keep that in mind). I wish Justin and his family a lot of hatzlocha in their new endeavor!
I ate there a few times food is good he does need a mashgiech full time since he is not shomer shabbos