After closing on March 20 due to the coronavirus pandemic, Tampa Heights' Hall on Franklin will reopen its doors this Friday, June 12, and with some new concepts.
Located at 1701 N. Franklin St, the food hall says the dining room, lounge, and bar will be open for walk-ins and reservations, and that its house DJ will start spinning at 8:30 pm, every Friday and Saturday.
Hall on Franklin will also have new operating hours from 11 a.m.-11 p.m. every Mon.-Thurs., 11 a.m.-2 a.m. Fri.-Sat., and 11 a.m.-9 p.m. on Sun.
As we previously reported, Bake ‘N Babes is now longer in the Hall, and has been replaced with a new concept from chef Ricardo Castro and chef Rosana Rivera, who also run Xilo and Kofe.
In a press release, Dave Burton, owner of downtown GenX Tavern, said that Bake ‘N Babes—which was using GenX as a temporary kitchen—will move in permanently.
“As a child of the 80s and 90s, GenX Tavern has always held a special place in my heart and remains one of my favorite projects. While being closed because of the pandemic, we decided it was time for us to narrow down and focus on what we did well and transition from a traditional restaurant to a bar and entertainment venue with great food and drinks," Burton wrote. We are thrilled to be partnering with Julie Curry and her amazing team at Bake’n Babes to offer something you rarely find—a bar with great food and fun desserts in a nostalgic environment that puts a smile on people’s faces. Julie is a terrific culinary talent, but an even better person and I’m honored to be working alongside her.”
The new booth at Hall, Chef & The Baker, is a patisserie and bakery.
“We describe Chef & The Baker as taking Piquant to New York City,” Castro previously explained to CL referencing the French bakery he and Rivera operated in Hyde Park Village until they had to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in July 2018.
Other Hall shack-ups include North Star Eatery moving out and Wabi Sabi moving in. The new Asian concept is from the same chefs behind Fork & Hen.
The space might also still be dealing with an eviction lawsuit, that alleges the owners, Vigor Group LCC, defaulted on its lease after failing to pay April and May rent. We've emailed Hall on Franklin founder Jamal Wilson to see if there are any new details on the suit.
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