—TAMPA’S NEWEST lifestyle hotel, HOTEL ALBA, a Tapestry Collection by Hilton hotel, is now open in Westshore. Named after the Spanish word for sunrise, “alba,” the design of the hotel reflects the unique local history and culture of Tampa. The hotel is decorated with historical photographs and houses a restaurant, The Spaniard, which offers food and drink with authentic Tampa flavors.
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—AN OLD WEDDING and events venue in Ybor City is set to transform into a new Southern cuisine restaurant. 7TH + GROVE will serve brunch, lunch, dinner and cocktails. The restaurant — with the motto “Eat. Vibe. Flourish.” — has teased dishes like shrimp and grits, collard green egg rolls and homestyle skillet mac and cheese ahead of its anticipated July opening.
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—STRATEGIC PROPERTY PARTNERS announced that the company has broken ground on 1010 WATER STREET, part of the Water Street Tampa project and downtown’s first new trophy office tower in over 25 years. The 20-story mixed-use building will feature 380,000 square feet of office and retail space and will connect to the new USF Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Institute via a public plaza. 1010 Water Street is expected to be complete in the late summer of 2021.
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—WHEN TAMPA NATIVES Tim McTague and Nate Young finished their time touring in bands, they decided to give back to Tampa in the form of coffee. Their first brick-and-mortar, KING STATE, is now open in Tampa Heights and serves craft coffee, beer and healthier spins on Southern-inspired bites.
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—SALT SHACK ON THE BAY recently opened on West Tyson Avenue, right on Old Tampa Bay. This casual outdoor restaurant has table and bar seating as well as boat parking, plus picnic tables in the sand along the water. Salt Shack will serve seafood, cocktails and frozen daiquiris.
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—INSIDE ANISE GLOBAL GASTROBAR, a new bar has opened in Downtown Tampa. HIDDEN STAR TIKI BAR will serve craft tiki cocktails and small bites during Friday and Saturday nights. The menu will also include desserts and tiki eats like coconut shrimp buns served with pineapple rum chutney and salmon tartare.
—PLANS FOR A NEW 34-story condo tower, ARRIS TAMPA, have been unveiled. If approved by the city, the project could break ground on the corner of Ashley Drive and Twiggs Street downtown early next year. With 80 units and 34 stories, it would be the newest addition to the skyline, joining an increasing number of tall condo buildings in Tampa Bay.
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—A NEW DELI IS NOW OPEN in North Hyde Park. CASS STREET DELI is Tampa’s only New York-style Jewish delicatessen. They source their bread, bagels and hot dogs right from vendors in the Tampa Bay area, like Jamison B Breadhouse and Tambuzzo Sausage Co. Cass Street Deli serves hot and cold sandwiches, matzo ball soup, latkes and, of course, bagels.
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—The ORLANDO BASED VALHALLA BAKERY has opened a new location on St. Petersburg’s Central Avenue, serving up an array of vegan and dairy-free baked goods ranging from cookies and cupcakes to wedding cakes.
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—The LOUISIANA BASED restaurant THE SALAD STATION is now open in Oldsmar. The restaurant — known for their salads, soups and spuds — is pay-by-weight style. Customers can create their own salad or wrap from a variety of lettuce, veggies, fruit, nuts and many more toppings.
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—THE NEW RESTAURANT FORBICI MODERN ITALIAN recently opened in Hyde Park Village. Created by Ciccio Restaurant Group’s Jeff Gigante, they will serve Roman-style pizza and Italian tapas, among other entrees in a sit-down style restaurant. Forbici also will house a bar with craft brews, cocktails and wine.
—TAMPA BASED hotel & property management service MAINSAIL LODGING & DEVELOPMENT recently won five “Certificates of Excellence” awards from TripAdvisor. The awards went to five of the company’s properties, including Tampa’s Epicurean Hotel and Dunedin’s Fenway Hotel. The Epicurean, a five-time award winner, is now a member of the TripAdvisor Hall of Fame.
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—OXFORD EXCHANGE will soon feature a new Champagne bar in its shop area. The bar will serve champagne and cocktails, sparkling rosé, and beer. The design of the café-style bar is expected to compliment the rest of Oxford Exchange and offer shoppers a new experience.
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—CVS PHARMACY is coming to the Channel District. The convenience store is slated to open in the storefront in Grand Central at Kennedy in early 2020. It will a block away from the new Publix inside the Channel Club.
