Winter Haven residents can now chow down at their very own Adler's

WINTER HAVEN — After a year of building anticipation, Adler's has finally landed in Winter Haven. 

The new location is one of three new eateries to open on a previously abandoned corner of downtown Winter Haven. At 542 Avenue B SW, Adler's is next to Honeycomb Bread Bakers and across from The Smokin' OX Premium BBQ on 6th Street. 

Adler's, a burger joint, is run by couple Jackleen and Wade Walston and their business partner Jeremiah Waters. They opened their original restaurant in Davenport about five years ago, drawing a large fan base.

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This is not Adler's first venture in Winter Haven. There was originally a walk-up window in an alleyway near Jensen's Corner Bar and Jessie's that operated between February and October of 2020. The restaurant was closed because there wasn't enough seating to accommodate guests. 

Adler's proved to still be popular among the Winter Haven community at its soft opening Thursday afternoon. 

"That was a very good feeling, to have, like, the support from Winter Haven and Polk County and the community, so it feels good," Jackleen Walston said. "Right at two o'clock, [the line] was halfway down Honeycomb, which was intense. I was like 'Oh, okay.' And you know, it was [in] waves throughout the day, so it gave us enough time to stop and freak out and get back to it." 

Walston said she and the other owners started planning this brick-and-mortar location about a year ago. They partnered with popular local companies Six/Ten LLC and Whitehead Construction to bring the new restaurant to life. And the restaurant is in a way itself a tribute to Winter Haven: the beams for the awning are from an old local arcade and the runners, trash cans and bins are from an old local car wash. Walston said they formed "our little Frankenstein restaurant with pieces of Winter Haven." 

Walston said Winter Haven residents were continuously contacting the Adler's social media pages over the last year, asking them when they would be returning to the city. And when given the chance, they turned up: the restaurant stayed open a couple of extra hours at its soft opening to accommodate extra guests, including members of the Polk County Board of County Commissioners, Walston said. 

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Guests were already lined up at 11 a.m. Friday for the official grand opening. About 20 minutes later, the line was 10 people deep, with many of the patrons walking from other areas of downtown rather than driving. 

Connie Sidwell, a local, said she wanted to be the first person in line. She was a frequent flyer at Adler's at its original Winter Haven location. 

"Everything is great, but we are addicted to their veggie burgers," Sidwell said. "[I] had to come out for the first day. I called all my friends, I'm like, 'We're coming! Come with me!'" 

Sidwell, who grabbed two veggie burgers, a classic burger, fries and drinks, was bringing lunch to her colleagues at Four Purls Yarn Shop, a downtown retailer. Sidwell was glad she could buy lunch locally because she's "keeping it all in the family." 

Another local, Bart Garbrecht, grabbed himself his usual, a bourbon burger, for lunch after walking over from his downtown office. Like Sidwell, he's excited about the new spots springing up in downtown Winter Haven.

"It's good for the growth right now, especially in the economy we’re in," Garbrecht said. "There’s not much to eat around here, there’s not a lot of restaurants. It's good to have something close." 

Opening in a pandemic

When Adler's first announced it was coming back to Winter Haven, the restaurant had a targeted spring opening. But the timeline was complicated by COVID-19, mostly because of issues surrounding getting permits. Unlike the Davenport location, the new Adler's serves up some local brews, which added the additional obstacle of securing a beer and wine license. 

"All the hurdles that we’ve been jumping all year to get us to this point is finally here. It feels worth it," Walston said. "We wanted to open a couple of months ago but just, the world wasn’t ready yet." 

And like all other restaurants, Adler's continues to be challenged by the pandemic. For example, staffing is an issue; Walston said they brought over some of their "trusted and true" employees and then hired three more. 

But even with the additional hands, they couldn't staff the new restaurant, Davenport and the food truck, Walston said. In July, the Adler's food truck permanently stationed at Lakeland's The Poor Porker was pulled to free up some bandwidth and make the Winter Haven opening possible. 

"It was just too much at first for us to be able to keep up with you know making sure all three spots went as planned because you don’t want to blow up too fast," Walston said. "You don’t want to lose touch with the quality of your product." 

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Part of the problem, Walston said, is that they don't have time to completely train brand new employees. They need people with experience, which is harder to come by. 

Plus, supply chain issues means getting food items like chicken wings or basic necessities like to-go boxes are a challenge. And there's the rising cost of all products to consider, too. 

'Winter Haven feels like a community'

The new Adler's will be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week. Walston said if they start seeing a serious night crowd, they would consider expanding weekend hours. 

The new location has more outdoor seating than Davenport, with two regular and one long bench outside in front of the order window. That's key to the community-building Walston wants to see happen at the restaurant and in the surrounding area. 

"We got like our own little Bermuda Triangle between Smokin’ Ox BBQ, the bakery and us right down this little corner that was a dead corner before," Walston said. "I don’t care if people want barbecue, somebody wants to go grab, like, a coffee and a bagel from over there and people drink beer here, you know what I mean. I just want it to feel like a community space."   

Adler's still has a few other things coming: outdoor fans, speakers, an additional awning and four more picnic tables built by students at Fort Meade High School. 

In the future, Walston would love to see a few more Adler's locations pop up, including in Lakeland. But for now, they're focused on the two restaurants they have and reconnecting with Winter Haven residents. 

"Winter Haven is more of a hometown feel," Walston said. "Davenport will always be our flagship. But Winter Haven feels like a community." 

Maya Lora can be reached with tips or questions at mlora@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @mayaklora.