PHOTO BY ROBERTO GONZALEZ FOR ORLANDO MAGAZINE
Izziban Sushi and BBQ (Website) and its neighboring dessert and coffee shop, Snowbean (Website), have closed suddenly at 5310 E. Colonial Drive [GMap] in Orlando, and a restaurant group is moving to buy the property for a new concept, according to Patricia Tolley for Orlando Business Journal.
Snowbean announced the closure on Instagram on October 14, but their account has since been disabled. “This is just as surprising to us as it is to you,” the shop had said. Neither business has given a reason for the closure, but the Orlando Business Journal reported that plans to sell and redevelop the property have been in the works for months.
Atelier Dining Group (Website), which operates Helena Modern Rivera, Rosallie Le French Café and Mangoni Italian Market Pizza in Winter Garden, is acquiring the building. “Atelier Dining Group is acquiring the property if everything goes well, not the existing businesses,” the statement said. The group plans a “highly themed” restaurant for the space but has not released further details.
Izziban opened in 2007 with an all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue and sushi menu. Orlando Weekly readers have voted it Best Korean Restaurant in Orlando multiple times in the paper’s Best of Orlando poll. It was also recently included in a list of Best Thirdplaces for Orlando Magazine (by me).
Snowbean opened about a decade later in the same building and served Korean sweets, coffee, tea, and bingsu, a milky shaved-ice dessert. Both were known for their lakeside setting and the “Love Deck” patio, where guests decorated the railings with hundreds of padlocks.
