Update: 08/22/2022 —Waco Kitchen opened its doors on Mon., Aug. 8. You can find the eatery at the space previously held by Hallback’s Bar & Grill. The business plans to offer a full bar and locally-sourced ingredients. 🍔

Take out and take off from Lakeland Linder’s potential new restaurant: Waco Kitchen.

Since its last renovation in 2001, the restaurant space has remained relatively untouched until now. If you remember back to 2019, the previous tenant, Hallback’s Bar & Grill, closed, and the space has been empty ever since, with a few rumors and rumblings of potential restaurants over the past two years.

Now, the space could be the home of a restaurant concept based out of Battle Creek, Michigan at the Battle Creek Executive Airport. All that’s standing between the restaurant and reality is a vote today from the city commission. The Lakeland Real Estate and Transportation Committee approved the lease on Friday for the restaurant to inhabit the second-floor space.

Views from the restaurant would overlook the airstrip, Waco Kitchen, MI | Photo via @wacokitchen

Now, with the area surrounding Lakeland Linder expanding, the restaurant would bring a new option to surrounding neighborhoods and residents on that side of Lakeland. Plus, the potential for commercial flights is still not 100% off the table for Lakeland’s future.

Here are a few highlights of the restaurant, should it come to fruition:

The restaurant concept is considered “farm to table,” meaning that the ingredients served are locally sourced.
Cuisine-wise, the menu is an American-European fusion by chefs with international training.
Due to the difference in climate and location, Lakeland’s potential menu will feature some different items than Battle Creek, with an emphasis on fish.
The restaurant will have its own bar serving up beer and wine, and liquor.
Should everything pan out today, construction would quite literally begin tomorrow with a $3 million renovation by the buyer.
Currently, an opening date is slated sometime in June, should all of the details fall into place.

Poll

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