A new BLIND TIGER CAFÉ is under construction inside WestShore Plaza. The local coffee joint will take over the mall’s former Starbucks location and is scheduled to open in late September. This will be owner Roberto Torres’ fifth Blind Tiger Café, with additional locations in Ybor City, SoHo, Seminole Heights and Westchase.
Water Street Tampa developer Strategic Property Partners announced that a GREENWISE Market will open in 2021 on the first floor of 815 Water Street. The specialty grocery store is owned by Publix and focuses on natural and organic products and prepared meals. SPP also recently began construction on the Tampa EDITION, a Marriott-branded hotel and condo building. The Edition will open in the spring of 2021 with 172 guest rooms and 37 residences.
The University of South Florida COLLEGE OF PHARMACY will move to the new Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Institute in Downtown Tampa. Now named the Taneja College of Pharmacy, the college recently received a $10 million gift from local philanthropists Jugal and Manju Taneja and will begin classes in the new building in the fall of 2021.
A second Noble Rice location, called NOBLE MARKET, is now open in Hyde Park, with a twist. The sister location to the popular modern Japanese restaurant is a sake shop and gourmet Japanese market with fine foods available for take out.
Tampa’s first fully air-conditioned indoor-outdoor dog park and dog bar, TWO SHEPHERDS TAPROOM, is coming to the stadium area by the end of 2019. The property will feature a craft beer and wine bar with an indoor, air-conditioned play space and more than 7,000 square feet of outdoor play space for pups. Dog owners will be required to submit their pet’s vaccination records before entering the bar.
The Georgia-based SIMPLY DONE DONUTS opened a location in South Tampa, replacing the former Mini Doughnut Factory. Simply Done makes mini donuts in more than two dozen different flavors, plus coffee, cold brew, tea, ice cream and milkshakes.
TAMPA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT was named the No. 5 best airport in the country on Travel + Leisure’s list of the 10 best domestic airports. Readers rated the airports based on their design, access, check-in and security procedures, restaurants and bars, and shopping options.
Later this year, the PIRATE WATER TAXI will unveil a new 100-passenger and two new 200-passenger vessels, the first new additions to the company’s fleet since the boats debuted in 2016. The 100-passenger water taxi will include a bar, climate-controlled seating and restrooms, while the 200-passenger vessel will feature a low profile that allows the boats to reliably pass under the Beneficial Drive bridge connecting downtown to Harbour Island.
BAY CANNON BEER CO. hosted its grand opening in early August on historic West Tampa’s Main Street. The brewery will serve more than a dozen beers from both its own taps and other breweries, plus wines on tap. The head chef, Joshua Keene, is an alum of Metropolitan Ministries’ Inside the Box culinary program and is serving up chicken wings, pretzel bread, shrimp tacos and more small bites.
Two new concepts are now open inside Armature Works’ Heights Public Market. PANE RUSTICA DUE is the second location of the South Tampa bakery and bistro, serving up sandwiches, pastries and pastas. CRESS is a health-conscious eatery with fresh, seasonal salads, bowls and soups.
The popular clothing brand MADEWELL is set to open a location in Hyde Park Village within the next year. The store, owned by J. Crew, focuses on denim — including jeans, jackets and embroidery — and has found brick-and-mortar success with millennials nationwide.
BIG RAY’S FISH CAMP is now open at the newly renovated Sail Pavilion along the Tampa Riverwalk. This is the second location for Nick Cruz’s seafood restaurant, known for its grouper sandwich, grouper Reuben, lobster corn dog and fried Key lime pie.
