Modern Vespa

Yesterday it was announced that London's famous Ace Cafe will expand with a new cafe in Orlando, Florida. I've heard some great things about this place and their involvement with the M/C clubs and various rides.

For those in the know, is it all that it's said to be? You know, the good and the ugly?

Here's a link to the press release....

http://eeditionmobile.orlandosentinel.com/Olive/Tablet/OrlandoSentinel/SharedArticle.aspx?href=OSN%2F2014%2F04%2F08&id=Ar00103

It was a good idea to stay away from I-drive. If they located there it would have been just another attraction.

And London Bridge may be in Arizona, but somehow, it just isn't the same.

I had the pleasure of visiting the Ace Cafe during my visit to London this past year and, based on photos and memorabilia I saw there, even the Ace Cafe seems to be only a shadow of its former glory. I doubt an American copy could capture any of the magic.

Sadly, that seems to be the way we get things here. Homegrown business are far better than some transplant. I wish someone like Ace would just invest and build a new business rather than try to replicate what is clearly a UK phenomenon.

I can see where your coming from, but you have to remember that we went there in the middle of the afternoon and in the middle of the week. Not a lot happens there at that time. On the weekend and most evenings the place is alive with people from all over the place.

I think the Orlando place will be a success, after all it's the vacation capital of the world and a lot of people will probably seek out the Orlando cafe...just like tourist do at the Ace in London.

now thats one hell of a shift

I am surprised though that they didn't go with Daytona Beach. That would seem a more natural place for it.

At least it's downtown... but in all my time in Orlando, I never thought of it as a biker town. The traffic down there truly sucks and the weather keeps most of them off road (at least during the hottest/rainiest parts of the day) all summer from May until late September.

Sticky, that crossed my mind too. But, unfortunately, there's a certain Bike Dealership that tends to make those kind of decisions on the beach side. You know that business.

What worries me is that the real heart of Ace is the classics, cafe racers, etc. Will those big pieces of iron and their owners take it over by sheer numbers?

Not many of these guys are happy with Daytona right now because of $$$. They've been shifting their gears towards Orlando for the past couple of years. Could that have played a part in the Ace decision. Hopefully I'm wrong.