“What was Hermione’s patronus?” came the question.

Tuesday Trivia was in full effect at Halls on 5th in Apopka. Harry Potter was the theme of the night. I wasn’t playing, but a surprising number of guests were — debating answers over their drinks in hushed tones.

It was an impressive turnout for a Tuesday for just about anywhere, especially having been here on a Saturday when the crowd was considerably thinner.

Friday, the bartender told me, is the peak night for Hall’s, which opened in Apopka’s diminutive-but-developing downtown back in May.

Ella Duke, owner and general manager, backed that up, though both opined it was nice to see things moving out of the universally slow summer season.

“Fridays are great because we take part in hosting the city’s Farmers Market, which happens here on 5th Street every week from 6 to 9 p.m.,” Duke told me. “It’s a guaranteed great show of traffic. Saturdays and Sundays have been great, too.”

I came Saturday evening, and while it was on the later side for dinner, I’d been expecting a bigger crowd. I might have just missed it, but I wasn’t mad about it. The weather was beautiful, there was ample seating up front and in back — where a quite lovely enclosed space wraps around the decades-old building.

Longtime plant-based eaters must still reel when they see photos like this one of the jackfruit “brisket” sliders from Soulicious Vegan, delighted at the options. (Amy Drew Thompson/Orlando Sentinel)

Even so, my friend and I chose bar seats. Where better to get a little intel?

Hall’s has been in the feed business since 1927; its exterior mural tells the world (though the mural was painted in the 1960s, Duke says).

Only back then, it was feeding livestock.

“It’s one of a handful of historic buildings in Apopka,” she says, “and that mural is the oldest in town.”

Ryan Whaley, the Parlor Kitchen magician. (Amy Drew Thompson/Orlando Sentinel)

The Hall family, she said, was happy to see it remain as a vital part of the community when the owners of the Propagate Social House, a past Orlando Sentinel Foodie Award winner for Best Coffee just across the street, bought it with plans for a transformation.

“The brothers come here for the farmers market,” she says, “and on Sundays, for the Sunday NFL Ticket, to watch football. It’s nice to still have them coming in, but not to work!”

Working hard, however, is the diverse crew of chefs bringing a variety of eats to the tables — inside and out.

“We’re so excited to have a food hall in Apopka,” Duke says. “Being able to do that, and in this developing downtown area and with the caliber of chefs we have here, with great followings, who so many people love — it’s just a great honor for us.”

Read on for a sampling of what you can sample here at Hall’s on 5th:

Quality control: The Butcher’s Nook wowed me at its Mount Dora location in early 2025. I’m happy to report that the sandos are still rock solid. (Amy Drew Thompson/Orlando Sentinel)

Butcher’s Nook

Its original Mount Dora location was one of my first reviews of 2025, and it was a raver. Prime meats, exemplary eats and, if you want it, a lil’ Nooky (the name of one of my favorite sandwiches on Chef/Owner Mario Penaherrera’s all-star lineup. The Nooky’s available here, now, too, along with other hot picks, literally in the case of L’Diablo, but I wanted to sample something different for this quality-assurance check. The Italian Americano ($17) was a whopper, as are all of the sandwiches here, lengthy and loaded down with prosciutto cotto, mortadella, Genoa salami, pepperoni, provolone, onions, and something called Butcher’s dressing — which I assume was the snappy, slawlike stuff that popped crispy amid all that rich meat and soft bread. The second half came home with us, and I cut slivers of it all day long. There’s a lot of value here. Deliciousness, too. (butchersnook.com)

We tried the sweet plantain/cheese and ropa vieja options from Empanada & Co. Picture perfect. (Amy Drew Thompson/Orlando Sentinel)

Empanada & Co.

This is the second spot for Empanada & Co., as well, which also offers its scratch-made handhelds at Winter Garden’s Plant Street Market. We sampled a meat lover’s bounty in the ropa vieja, made fresh to order, flaky and flavorful, as well as the vegetarian-friendly sweet plantain and cheese combo. Sweet meets savory. The filling, a subjective, is going to make the experience for you, so choose wisely. The dough on both was baked, light and lovely, but these hot pockets are full … and easy on the wallet, as well. These two were $5.50 apiece. (empanadaandco.com)

Parlor Kitchen’s corn mochi waffle, stuffed with vanilla sugar cookie, dipped in hot honey butter and topped with sea salt and torched popcorn, scratch caramel and whipped cream, was voted No. 1 in the United States in the 2024 Dessert Wars competition. (Amy Drew Thompson/Orlando Sentinel)

Parlor Kitchen

Chef Ryan Whaley’s got fan favorites (his corn mochi waffle won Judge’s Pick for “Best Dessert in the U.S.” at the national Dessert Wars competition in 2024 and yes, you can try it here) and seasonal specials (the pumpkin-spiced Basic Witch is still on the menu, PSL people) but you’ll have fun finding your own amid the made-to-order, cookie-stuffed crazy that’s coming out of his bubbling cauldron. The former is a delight of sticky, corny sweetness that’s doused with subtle heat. The latter is a fall-fabulous flurry of decadence. Go if you’re having a sweet craving. And if you’re here for dinner, seriously: save room. (parlorkitchen.com)

A $30 sampler from Soulicious Vegan allows guests to select three of six options. We chose the jerk oyster mushroom tacos, jackfruit “brisket” sliders and hot honey agave “wings.” (Amy Drew Thompson/Orlando Sentinel)

Soulicious Vegan Kitchen

The plates here are what you’d expect of plant-based fare: aggressive with color. Bright yellow pineapple, deep healthy green, rich festive red. We went for a $30 sampler, choosing three of six available options with two pieces of each. Jerk tacos feature oyster mushrooms as the “protein” topped with kale and red cabbage slaw, sweet plantains, pineapple pico and a drizzle of house sauce. Soul “brisket” sliders made with jackfruit are smoky with herb mustard and a pop of pickled onions with more of that slaw and sauce. Hot honey wings (calm down, it’s agave) are undeniably tasty, with barky texture doused in sweet heat. They’ve got an onion ring kinda feel … nice option with a cold beer. (souliciousvegankitchen.com)

Once scoop rice, two scoops mac: spicy musubi and kalua pork from Sweet & Salty Island Grindz, now serving on the west side of town at Hall’s on 5th. (Amy Drew Thompson/Orlando Sentinel)

Sweet & Salty Island Grindz

I’ve been a fan of this husband and wife since 2021, when they were selling that now-viral hot butter chicken katsu sandwich on their food truck. I followed them when they opened their first stall inside Henry’s Depot in Sanford. Now, westsiders can get in on the action, with all the Hawaiian-style plate lunches, that crazy-good Loco Moco burger and more. For old time’s sake, we did up the kalua pork with one scoop rice, two scoops mac and a spicy musubi. All was on point. Get your ono on, Apopka. (sweetandsaltygrindz.com)

Thrive Eatery’s tempura shrimp bao features furikake, spicy mayo, cukes, kobachi sauce and local greens. (Amy Drew Thompson/Orlando Sentinel)

Thrive Eatery

With a lush, green, downtown eatery as its home base, Thrive, too, has expanded its footprint to Halls, rounding out the menu with Asian takes in the form of bao and sushi roll options as well as noodles, dumplings and other dishes with an Eastern touch. Also sliders — sold in adorable little duos. We sampled the Small, Dark & Handsome pair ($13) with brie and blackberries as their main accents; the shrimp tempura bao, also a twofer ($13.75) and my Saturday night companion’s top taste; and the Maguro Madness roll, a filling option for tuna lovers at $17.

Maguro Madness from Thrive Eatery: spicy and ahi tuna, yellowtail, cucumber, tempura flakes and kobachi sauce. (Amy Drew Thompson/Orlando Sentinel)

The food’s set, but the schedule is still filling in, from cigars on the patio at Wednesday’s Domino Night (a popular one) to Thursday’s special “Girl Dinner” (“available for boys, too!” Duke assures me), which features unique, smaller shareables from each concept at $8 a pop. Drink specials, too.

Feed store. Food hall. Same concept, different demographic. Hooman Apopkans, it’s your time.

Want to reach out? Find me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram @amydroo or on the OSFoodie Instagram account @orlando.foodie. Email: amthompson@orlandosentinel.com. For more foodie fun, join the Let’s Eat, Orlando Facebook group.

If you go

Hall’s on 5th: 15 E. 5th St. in Apopka, 407-886-3181; hallson5th.com

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/10/16/halls-on-5th-apopka-amy-drew-review/