When Creative Loafing Tampa Bay reported on the closure of Banyan Cafe's MLK location a few months ago, original owner Erica Allums expected to take over the space once again. Well, plans have changed as they usually do in the perpetually-evolving Tampa Bay food scene, and a brand new concept is on the way.
Now, Uptown Eats will open in the former Banyan Cafe space—located at 689 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. N.—instead.
That's according to Tampa Bay artist and curator Chad Mize who announced that his longtime partner, Dan Schmidt, is opening shop at 689 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. N. Schmidt's forthcoming café is coincidentally next to Mize's art Gallery.
There's no information about what kind of concept Uptown Eats will be, but Schmidt is currently a managing partner at St. Pete’s Independent Bar, so maybe we can expect similar globally-inspired eats at this new downtown spot.
And if you miss the strong coffee and light bites of Banyan Cafe, its location at 701 Central Ave. in St. Petersburg is still up-and-running.
Keep up with upcoming Elevated Eats developments by following its Facebook page.
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