Owner BT Nguyen knew people might her ask why she'd open BT To Go less than half a mile from her well-established Restaurant BT on MacDill Avenue in South Tampa.
But, as she explains, there are a few reasons.
"First, because I have had so many of my customers come in at night requesting lunch items that I can only make available during the day at BT. Our kitchen is devoted to our dinner items at night," Nguyen says. " Secondly, I wanted to be able to accommodate so many of my friends who want to-go items, or to just have a casual spot to grab a quick bite."
Targeting an opening date of Nov. 2, the space at 3215 S. MacDill Ave. in Bayshore Plaza looks ready to go.
Inside, one long dining table with 10 chairs is featured, while small tables and a special pick-up parking space, where servers will deliver preorders to your car, are offered outside. Much of the interior design work was done by Nguyen.
The new location is meant to be a very different experience from the larger café, according to the owner.
BT To Go plans to offer farm-fresh food with the convenience of online ordering and payment. The menu will consist of lunch items currently served at Café BT, combined with daily specials that are seasonally influenced by market availability.
"People can't always take the time to enjoy our food in a sit-down setting. I wanted to make it convenient, healthy, economical and fast," she says.