The only feature missing from the new three-in-one project planned for downtown Tampa’s Franklin Street is beds.
“This is home, by the way,” says David Anderson, half of the twosome who’s somewhere around nine months into the build-out of the soon-to-open Franklin Manor. “We should just put a bed here — that’s how much we’re here.”
Anderson and Lanfranco Pescante, owners of the Nocturnal Group development and management company, have had the idea for their post-modern twist on a timeless Americana venue (part cocktail bar, part live music hub, part restaurant) for two or three years now. They’ve teamed up with names like bar consultant and restaurateur Ro Patel, architect Robert Ibarra and Salt Block Catering Co. to create a little somethin’-somethin’ at 912 and 914 N. Franklin St. — a neighborhood bar with the allure to attract nearby regulars but also out-of-downtowners.
The idea for the concept stemmed from what has been Pescante and Anderson’s forte over the years: bringing in a bill of larger talent, including Gym Class Heroes and Avicii, to Tampa for live shows. Plus, the partners saw a lack of places to grab a really nice cocktail and be entertained at the same time.
Aiming to lock down “the perfect space,” the best friends with a passion for traveling and soccer say they'd been anticipating the city’s shift toward downtown. They mention Jeff Vinik’s plan, parallels between the Tampa Riverwalk and the resurgence of downtown St. Pete (with help from Beach Drive), ultra-modern residential-meets-commercial developments like the huge NINE15 across the street (which they didn’t know about until after signing a lease), and the frequency of downtown events.
The neglected corner building they’re dramatically transforming gives them the opportunity to provide tunes across two stages, inside and out.
“Every downtown in the world has a nice venue, live venue, that can host events and people and etcetera,” says Pescante, who moved to the area from Italy 12 years ago. “There’s really not [one] in Tampa. That doesn’t exist downtown.”
A before and now look at the entertainment development's indoor bar area.
Franklin Manor/Meaghan Habuda
Top-notch entertainment will be a draw, but Franklin Manor will incorporate a dash of sports alongside what Anderson calls “a large craft influence.”
Developed by Patel, a high-end cocktail menu will drive the concept’s 3,300-square-foot space indoors. The design, which stays true to Ibarra’s style of subtlety, is meant to be a double take on Franklin Street with hidden nods to Benjamin Franklin, and the branding concept and art layers were created by Tampa design team Pep Rally.
Expect old-school spinners at the marble bar top (custom-built by Marble Masters, which Anderson’s father Robert owns), high-top seating and some TVs.
A 6,600-square-foot outdoor patio surrounded by 6- to 7-foot hedges will feature a more casual beverage lineup and the restaurant, called The Carriage House at Franklin Manor, with Salt Block doing the food and Franklin Manor operating partner Greg Zwolinski at the helm. Though the eatery, offering a mix of lighter and indulgent easy-to-down baskets and handhelds (even items for Fido), will essentially be a concession food trailer, guests won’t walk up to it; they’ll place their orders with a server. On weekends, the nostalgic Carriage House will stay open late with its spins on classics.
High-top benches and cafe-style seating, a large rectangular bar under an awning, and a projector — for when big matches, such as the World Cup or Stanley Cup, call for watch parties — are also planned.
“The focus will be out here, but the inside’s a nice complement. We live in Tampa; everybody wants to be outside,” Anderson says.
Pescante and Anderson, who’ve worked as everything from dishwasher to server to bartender in the restaurant and bar industry, expect to open Franklin Manor in six to eight weeks.
Their long-term vision is to launch something special downtown, then move a similar concept to other locations.
“When you decide to live in the urban core, you’re not gonna get in your car,” Pescante says. “You’re gonna go downstairs and see what’s going on, which hopefully will create a synergy with all the other places that are already here.”
