Tonight, Thursday, November 19, run clubs from around Orlando will meet in front of 5947 Lake Nona Blvd. at 6:30 for a one-mile run or walk. Anyone who finishes gets a free margarita or mocktail, plus an offer for free chips and guacamole. Live music follows. The event is called the Margarita Mile, and it runs from 6:30 to 8 p.m. It celebrates the grand opening of Cañonita, the first restaurant at Lake Nona West.
The name may sound familiar. Cañonita has had a counter at Boxi Park for a while, and that counter is staying put. The new place is a bigger, sit-down sibling of that taqueria, run by the same company. That company, Tavistock, also built the shopping center around it. So Lake Nona West's first restaurant didn't come from somewhere else. It grew out of a name Town Center already knew.
A summer of stores, then one dining room
Through the summer, everything that opened at Lake Nona West was retail. Life in Orlando's October 28 update lists the order:
- Homesense was one of the first stores to open.
- Barnes & Noble opened in June.
- The nearly 150,000-square-foot Target opened July 26.
- Nordstrom Rack opened September 24.
- DICK'S Sporting Goods, Golf Galaxy and Total Wine & More round out the lineup.
The center covers 54 acres and more than 405,000 square feet of space along Lake Nona Boulevard, near Boggy Creek Road and State Road 417. It was built with shaded walkways, murals and outdoor gathering areas. Until this month, none of the businesses there was a sit-down restaurant.
Cañonita changed that in early November. A courtyard market at the restaurant's address on Saturday, November 7, was billed as an opening celebration. By Monday, November 9, the restaurant was taking reservations on OpenTable, and early diners were posting reviews. Tonight's run is the formal grand opening.
The same name, a different kind of meal
Tavistock Restaurant Collection operates both Cañonitas. Its group dining page says the new restaurant builds "on the local following of Cañonita Street Taqueria at Boxi Park." The Lake Nona blog describes the Lake Nona West location as full service with a regional-Mexican menu, separate from the quick-service Boxi Park counter. It also says both locations stay open. The Boxi Park taqueria isn't moving. It now has a larger sibling a few miles west.
You can see the difference on the menu.
Starters and tacos:
- Street-corn ribs
- House ceviche
- Flautas
- Tacos with blackened snapper, citrus shrimp or griddled birria
House plates, each named for a region of Mexico:
- Sonoran carne asada
- Oaxacan pollo adobado
- Enchiladas Michoacán
- Jalisco-style birria
- Yucatán blackened snapper
- Shrimp diablo
- Pozole verde
A section called La Familia offers platters for four to six people: a fajita platter, a taco bar and a Cañonita parrillada.
The restaurant's own site also promotes a tequila selection and a covered patio built around a butterfly-inspired bar. The menu has a separate Tequila & Mezcal section. Tavistock describes three separate areas, including that patio and bar, and says the restaurant is built for weekday lunches, after-work happy hours and large groups. For private events, it can host up to 450 guests.
Hours at a new restaurant often change in the first weeks, so check the Cañonita site before you plan a weekday lunch around it.
The landlord also runs the restaurants
Cañonita fits a pattern you can see across Lake Nona. Tavistock Development built Lake Nona Town Center, and its project page lists Boxi Park, Chroma and Park Pizza & Brewing Company as Town Center destinations. Its sister company, Tavistock Restaurant Collection, runs those places and more:
| Venue | Where in Lake Nona | What it is | Group capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boxi Park | Lake Nona Town Center | Rotating chef-driven food concepts, live entertainment | Up to 1,800 |
| Cañonita Lake Nona | Lake Nona West | Full-service regional Mexican, covered patio, butterfly bar | Up to 450 |
| Canvas | Laureate Park Village Center | New American with Southern and Latin American influences | Up to 300 |
| Chroma Modern Bar + Kitchen | Lake Nona Town Center | Small plates | Up to 300 |
| Nami | Lake Nona Wave Hotel | Contemporary Japanese with European elements | Up to 120 |
Park Pizza & Brewing Company is also on the collection's list.
At Lake Nona West, the first restaurant comes from the same company behind Boxi Park, Canvas and Chroma. It brings a name Boxi Park regulars already know, and it opens with a run-club event on the neighborhood's official calendar. The new center's food scene starts out tied to the places Lake Nona already has.
What's still on the way
Cañonita won't be the only place to eat for long. The October update lists these as coming to Lake Nona West:
- Just Salad, a fast-casual salad, wrap and bowl spot
- Kilwins, for chocolate, fudge and ice cream
- Sephora
- Drybar
- Gloss Nail Co.
JETSET Modern Pilates has already opened. It held a ribbon-cutting with the Lake Nona Regional Chamber on September 24 at 5959 Lake Nona Blvd., Suite 160. According to the same Life in Orlando report, more retail and dining openings will keep coming into early 2027.
Tavistock has also filed plans for a large home improvement store on about 15.6 acres just east of the center. The proposal calls for a building of roughly 140,000 square feet, with room for up to 150,000, and about 570 parking spaces. For now, it's only a proposal.
December runs back through Town Center
For the next few weeks, Lake Nona West has one dining room, and the holiday calendar is centered on the older side of the neighborhood. The Oh, What Fun! Holiday Festival runs December 4 through 20 at Lake Nona Town Center and Boxi Park, 6955 Lake Nona Blvd. It includes holiday markets and themed weekends at Boxi Park. Here are the dates to save:
- Wednesday, December 2, 5 to 8 p.m. Lake Nona Farmers Market at Laureate Park Village Center.
- Friday, December 4, 6 to 10 p.m. Opening Night & Tree Lighting at Lake Nona Town Center. The 24-foot tree lights at 6 p.m.
- Sunday, December 6, 6 to 9 p.m. Hanukkah Celebration of Lights at Lake Nona Town Center.
- Saturday, December 12, 4 to 7 p.m. Oh, What Fun! Holiday Parade. It starts at Crescent Park in Laureate Park and ends at Lake Nona Town Center, with the first arrivals expected around 6:30 p.m.
- Wednesday, December 16, 5 to 8 p.m. The last farmers market of the year at Laureate Park Village Center.
You can link these dates to the new dining room. The Boxi Park counter is a festival stop, and Canvas sits right where the farmers market sets up. Cañonita's La Familia platters work for a table of four to six, so the restaurant could be a dinner spot before or after a December event. For a group large enough to need the 450-guest space, Tavistock handles the booking.
Tonight's run is the easiest first visit. Sign up through the Margarita Mile Eventbrite page, meet at Cañonita in Lake Nona West at 6:30 p.m., and walk or run your mile. A drink is waiting at the finish.
Every opening at Lake Nona West changes what's within a short drive of your front door, and that can matter when you think about what your home is worth. If you'd like to see how the changes along Lake Nona Boulevard show up in your home's value, Sanchez Homes can walk you through it, in English or en español. Start with your Free Home Valuation, and we'll take it from there.
