A photograph by Ray Roa showing the ordering counter and interior coffee shop setup of Blind Tiger Coffee Roasters inside the Rivergate Tower in downtown Tampa, Florida, on August 11, 2026. Captured in a wide angle shot, the foreground prominently features a white ordering counter displaying a large tiger head logo alongside black lettering reading "BLIND TIGER COFFEE ROASTERS." Behind the counter, digital menu boards hang beneath recessed drop-ceiling lights, flanking a glass pastry display case and retail merchandise on display under bright interior lighting.
Blind Tiger’s Rivergate Tower location on Aug. 11, 2026. Credit: Ray Roa / Creative Loafing Tampa Bay

The beer can building now comes with a little bit of bite. 

Homegrown coffee chain Blind Tiger cut the ribbon on its ninth location during a grand opening celebration inside the cube at the base of Rivergate Tower, located at 400 N Ashley Dr.

The new 1,000 square-foot-location is just a six-minute walk from another Blind Tiger inside Tampa City Center.

The new shop was staffed with four employees on Tuesday morning, and Roberto Torres—who opened the first Blind Tiger 12 years ago on the corner of 19th Street and 7th Avenue in Ybor City—told the Tampa Bay Business Journal that he’s “bullish” on downtown.

Blind Tiger’s Rivergate Tower location is open from 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m. on weekdays and closed on the weekends. The menu features all of the chain’s signature drinks like the Dirty Thaiger and Bombon drinks along with pastries, breakfast sandwiches, bagels, and lunch.

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This article appears in August 06 – 12, 2026.

Read his 2016 intro letter and disclosures from 2022 and 2021. Ray Roa started freelancing for Creative Loafing Tampa in January 2011 and was hired as music editor in August 2016. He became Editor-In-Chief...