With the street’s huge volume of dining, drinking and entertainment options, comparisons between Ybor’s Seventh Avenue and New Orleans’ Bourbon Street are obvious and well covered. For Zydeco Brew Werks owners Paul Rutherford and J. Paul Pepin, it made perfect sense to bring the Big Easy to Tampa. “Zydeco is the music of the Cajun people,” Rutherford says. “It ties in with our Cajun-inspired kitchen and Ybor City’s similarities to New Orleans. Also, J. Paul really wanted to bring Cajun cuisine back to Ybor City since he was a big fan of Cafe Creole [on Ninth Avenue] and was sad to see them go many years ago.” At the bar, Zydeco has a variety of rotating beers and five signature selections (including lagers, a golden ale and an IPA) all created at the in-house brewery, as well as a selection of wines and craft cocktails. Bites skew traditionally Cajun and Creole, with dishes including gumbo, shrimp and grits, and muffaletta. “The building we’re in has been here since 1906,” Rutherford adds, “so people have been enjoying themselves here for a long time, and we are excited to continue that tradition.”
WHAT TO KNOW: 1902 E. 7th Ave. | (813) 252-4541 | facebook.com/zydecobrewwerks
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