PHOTO VIA JASON R.
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Hula Mula (Instagram), an all-day café concept from German restaurateur Steven Lorenz, is set to open in downtown Orlando at 201 S. Orange Avenue [GMap], marking the brand’s first location in the United States.
The business has signed a 10-year lease for a 2,753 SF space in Suite 105 of the building, with roughly 44 seats planned, according to city records. The build-out is expected to cost approximately $772,811, and Lorenz is targeting a late summer opening, pending construction progress.
According to what we can glean online, guests can expect Italian-style coffee, American bagels, French pastries, Japanese-influenced sushi, and globally inspired bowls and light fare. Some Hawaiian-inspired dishes, including poke bowls, will also be on the menu, though Lorenz has said the restaurant is not a Hawaiian concept.
Lorenz owns and operates Hula Mula alongside his wife, Ramona Reilen. The couple has run restaurants in Europe since 2019 and currently operates three locations, with the original Hula Mula opening in Germany in 2024. Lorenz has said he wanted to relocate to Florida for more than 20 years, and that a shared love of the state helped drive the decision to open the brand’s first US restaurant in Orlando.
The Orlando City Council approved a Business Assistance Program agreement for Hula Mula on August 10, providing $20,000 toward the restaurant’s transportation impact fees, the maximum amount allowed under the program. The Business Assistance Program is a matching grant that covers half of a qualifying business’s eligible permitting and impact fees, up to $20,000, and requires the business to remain in operation for at least three years.
Hula Mula also secured separate funding through the city’s DTO Restaurant Program, which is designed to attract new restaurants to downtown Orlando’s Community Redevelopment Area. That program is providing Hula Mula with up to $96,355 for tenant improvements such as plumbing, flooring, and electrical work, along with an additional $50,000 in rental assistance.
Hours for the café are still being finalized, but Lorenz has said Hula Mula is expected to operate daily from around 7 to 7:30 a.m. until 6 to 6:30 p.m.
