Slew of new highly themed restaurants coming

[MaXxlife]

From OBJ

Levy Restaurants and Schussler Creative Inc. - two companies with extensive Orlando operations - are partnering to open and operate as many as 10 new themed attractions, restaurants and retail store chains.

Concepts announced on Wednesday range from the world's best hot dogs to a cafe celebrating the fictional exploits of a retro/reggae musical genre called Aerobleu.

Multiple locations of each concept are planned and no locations were announced.

Levy operates three themed restaurants in Central Florida. Walt Disney World selected the Levy brothers in 1985 to open three restaurants at what was then called the Disney Village Marketplace. Since then the company has taken over the operation of Wolfgang Puck's restaurant and Downtown Disney as well as the catering for the Orange County Convention Center.

Schussler Creative is preparing to open Yak and Yeti, a themed restaurant at Disney's Animal Kingdom and in development on the second of his oversized dinosaur-themed T-Rex Cafes at Downtown Disney. Founder Steve Schussler had his biggest success with Rainforest Cafe, a restaurant concept he later sold to Landry's Restaurants (NYSE:LNY) in 2000.

A third partner in the concept roll out is Red Development LLC. The business, with home offices in both Kansas City and Phoenix, was formed in 1995 to develop, lease, manage and own shopping centers throughout the country.

The proposed concepts include:

* The Hot Dog Hall of Fame -- A huge selection of sausages with an entire palette of mustards to paint the hot dogs.

* America's RoadHouse -- Comfort food and live blues music with a vintage backdrop.

* Aerobleu -- The Spirit of Cool -- A Paris jazz club tied to a musical myth concocted by three entertainment marketing executives that is tied to vintage airplanes. The decor is retro and the food and drink will be influenced by Cuba, New Orleans, New York, London and Paris.

* The Sorcerer's Kitchen -- A Renaissance-era magic school with plenty of wizardry and hearty food like rotisserie chicken and smoked meat.

* Winter Wonderland -- A year round winter weather environment matched with cold-weather comfort food.

* Musical Gardens -- Fine dining in an outdoor garden atmosphere.

* Dynasty -- Pan-Asian food in an opulent Chinese palace.

Three more concepts are still in development from Schussler's headquarters in Golden Valley, Minn.