Jeff Brown and Jay Thomas aren’t rookies when it comes to restaurant ownership around town. The longtime friends have operated eateries together since 2010 — among them The Brown Boxer Pub & Grille, a sports pub with multiple Pinellas outposts, and Clearwater Beach's The Reef, a destination for prime steak and seafood.
Alongside co-owners Gator Handley and Scott Barrows, the duo are now set to open the doors of their latest concept in uncharted territory. The new restaurant, known as Bumpa’s Fish Shack, is taking shape in Tarpon Springs at 900 N. Pinellas Ave.
“We’re kind of always looking to expand and grow as a company,” Brown said. “Someone contacted us about that place and we went out and looked at it, and it really spoke to our personalities.”
The partners were looking to open a restaurant with two different settings: a high-energy atmosphere that allows regulars to kick back and enjoy some Sunday football, as well as a mellower environment where guests can chow down on quality seafood. They found just that in the building most recently occupied by Eliza, and Ballyhoo’s Grill before that.
Bumpa’s, which will seat 270 people, is going for a refined fisherman’s feel throughout its indoor dining room, with televisions limited to the bar area. Right outside, the patio aims to offer neighborhood residents a party that’s reminiscent of Key West; bright blues and yellows, plus funky signs for decoration, will make this the “locals’ hangout.”
The restaurant plans to focus on bringing daily live music to the dog-friendly patio, too. Bands are expected during happy hour on weekdays, extending late into the night on Fridays and Saturdays.
Keeping in line with the dual theme, the food menus also vary between the dining room and the patio. Inside, dishes like jumbo shrimp cocktail and baked lobster mac ‘n’ cheese mingle with more upscale entrees, including filet mignon. Patrons sitting outdoors, meanwhile, can expect their favorite sports-watching bites — cheese curds, wings and sandwiches, to name a few.
On Sept. 15, Bumpa’s is scheduled to debut in soft-opening mode, just in time for the 2017 NFL season. Guests can look forward to the chance to win a $500 cash giveaway, a tradition Brown started years ago at his Brown Boxer locations.
“If you come in at the beginning of the game, we give out tickets to everybody who is in the building. You have to be there at the first quarter of the first game — and be there through the end of the game, when the winner is chosen. It’s a way that our customers get something back for coming in, spending money and hanging out with us all night,” Brown said.
The grand opening celebration — featuring a day of live music from The Black Honkeys, Charlie Hoe and Flyte Band — follows Sept. 16. As a special treat, the Clearwater Jolley Trolley will even operate free of charge, giving Brown Boxer fans a chance to check out Bumpa’s and those unfamiliar with The Brown Boxer to roll out over that way.
More than anything, Bumpa’s is excited to bring a fun and welcoming atmosphere to Tarpon Springs — one that’s focused on the locals, an approach the partners are familiar with.
“We feel strongly that you can’t have a restaurant and not the have the people around the street be friends with you,” Brown said. “You can get good food at a lot of different places. There’s a ton of restaurants around there that have great food, but it is the atmosphere and the feel [that] causes them to pick us over someone else.”
The Bumpa’s dining room is open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Patio hours are 11 a.m. to midnight Sunday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
Editor's note: This story has been updated since it's original publication to reflect that Bumpa's Fish Shack's Sept. 10 soft opening has been delayed till Sept. 15, due to the mandatory evacuation Pinellas County issued Thursday morning.
