Tampa Bay restaurants face a brutal stretch of closures
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The patio at Baba, with a bonus Cinco the kitty sighting. Photo: Kathryn Varn/Axios
Tampa Bay has experienced some tough local restaurant and bar closures over the last month.
Why it matters: With summer typically a slow food scene and added stressors, including inflation, tariffs and high gas prices, squeezing businesses and consumers, more shifts in the dining scene could be on the way.
The big picture: This month began with the sudden closure of Red Mesa Cantina, a downtown St. Petersburg staple for 16 years whose parent company filed for bankruptcy.
- Then, beloved vegan restaurant Good Intentions announced it would close after almost four years, drawing such a crush of customers visiting to say goodbye that the team had to streamline its hours and menu.
- Tampa's Rome + Fig Global Bistro served its final customers over the weekend, while Grand Central District Mediterranean staple Baba and its attached tinned fish bar, BarBouni, will close Friday.
Among other recent closures: Tampa's GenX Tavern and Daily Eats, St. Pete's Lorene's Fish House and Brutique, and Pinellas Park biker bar and wing house Quaker Steak & Lube.
What they're saying: "Outside of the pandemic, this is amounting to probably the worst off-season we've ever had since 2020," restaurateur Zach Feinstein told the Tampa Bay Times.
- Feinstein is the CEO of the Feinstein Group, which runs Dunedin establishments The Living Room, Sonder Social Club, The Black Pearl and Highland House.
- "Tourism is down, consumer confidence is down and, unfortunately, one way people tighten the belt is that they just don't go out," he said
The intrigue: Jason Brunetti with Ciccio Restaurant Group, which operates Daily Eats and regional favorites like Cali and Green Lemon, offered another possible factor: GLP-1 weight loss drugs.
- "The one meal people are skipping right now is breakfast," Brunetti told Creative Loafing. "In this climate and everybody's dietary needs, it's hard to make money."
Yes, but: Restaurant owners are finding ways to adapt, including by collaborating with peers or opening new concepts to generate buzz.
Case in point: Daily Eats is set to reopen as Meeting House, "a neighborhood restaurant centered around lunch, dinner and weekend brunch," per an Instagram post.
- Following Baba's closure and a remodel, the space will open as Kaixo, a concept "inspired by the food, wine and cultural traditions of the Iberian Peninsula," per Instagram.
- Barra Barra, a Basque-inspired pop-up that made waves earlier this year, will open permanently in the BarBouni space.
The bottom line: "The busiest places right now are the places that just opened," co-owner George Sayegh told the Times.
- "Anyone who has been open for five years and they say they're still growing? I'd venture to say that's not the truth."