Restaurant News: The Refinery to open in Seminole Heights

a large selection of small plates -- "bigger than most tapas," according to Michelle -- and a few entrees, like basil-miso battered tofu and bison country-fried steak. "The lunch menu will be seasonal and brunch will be a collection of dishes from our favorite restaurants across the country," says Michelle.


The dinner menu will change almost nightly, partly due to The Refinery's focus on sourcing local ingredients as much as possible. The Bakers plan to have hydroponic farm Urban Oasis grow a lot of their produce, and hope to work with local foods guru John Matthews of Sarasota's Suncoast Food Alliance. "The menus will tell you where your food is coming from," says Michelle. "We're hoping to start a trend. We know a lot of chefs will come in and we want them going back to their owners and saying 'we can do this, too.'"


The Bakers hope to sign the papers very soon, and may have the restaurant up and running with the new name and menu by early February.

Greg and Michelle Baker, the couple behind Culinary Sherpas and recipe columnists for the Tampa Tribune, plan to open a new restaurant in Tampa's Seminole Heights. They haven't signed the papers yet and they're under a confidentiality agreement, so they can't say where the restaurant is, but it's a turn-key operation that they plan to operate under the original name for a few weeks until they can arrange for signage and a quick remodel.

Once that's done, the new spot will be called The Refinery and will feature

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