For more than six years a small sign in Colonialtown has advertised the impending arrival of Kobe Japanese Steakhouse.
The sign went up shortly after Barney's Steak & Seafood closed in 2009, yet year after year the 22,000-square-foot building has sat empty while Kobe Japanese Steakhouse expands through Central Florida.
Hundreds of new restaurants open in Central Florida every year, but at a few properties, development has stalled for months or even years.
One property in Maitland that housed the short-lived Blackfin restaurant has a sign that says "Coming Soon! New Management. New Concept!" The sign went up in August.
"The old Barney's was an investment property," said Chau Nguyen, CEO of the 11-restaurant Kobe chain. "We still plan to open as a Kobe, but right now it has a low priority."
Nguyen said Kobe's expansion has kept him so busy that a restaurant near downtown Orlando hasn't been as important as new eateries in places such as Longwood and International Drive. The company now has four restaurants in the Tampa area as well.
"The reason it is low priority is we are opening one more location on International Drive near SeaWorld," he said. "The tourist market has been very strong the last two years compared to the Colonialtown area."
The new location would be the fifth in Central Florida's tourist district. So for now, that old Barney's site will have to wait.
Sometimes the planning and details of opening a new restaurant can be a long process, said Mark McKee, CEO of Ace Café North America, which is opening a site in downtown Orlando near Interstate 4.
McKee and Ace Café announced in April 2014 that it was bringing its vintage-motorcycle-themed eatery and bar to Orlando, converting a handful of unused industrial buildings into a 16,000-square-foot entertainment space.
"This is a pretty big project," McKee said. "We are trying to restore the buildings versus tearing things down. All the permitting and planning that has taken time."
From the street it would appear that the project is stalled, but McKee said work has been going on inside, examining the structure, evaluating the roof and planning exactly how the building will accommodate a restaurant.
"A lot of the work is inside; you just don't see it from the outside," he said.
Ace Café held a ceremonial groundbreaking at the 3-acre site in April. McKee said the company is now planning to start exterior work in August. Meanwhile, the company is working to hire a general manager for the business and then can start hiring other staffers.
"We want to get open sometime in the fall just before Biketoberfest and a lot of other events that are happening downtown," he said "We've got about 200 people to hire."
When Blackfin restaurant in Maitland closed after just five weeks in business in August, a sign on the door said a new eatery would be coming soon. A banner went up along U.S. Highway 17-92.
Former Blackfin co-owner Eric Kovar said the restaurant was successful, bringing in upward of $25,000 one night, but he and business partner Brandon Bizar parted ways. Bizar retains control of the property, Kovar said.
"It's a high-profile spot and a beautiful building," Kovar said.
Bizar didn't respond to several attempts to contact him.
Kovar is no longer connected to the site, but he said the restaurant had a 10-year lease on the property, and there are still plans to reopen.
"It's been almost a year now that the sign has been up," Kovar said.