Wicked Cantina A locally-owned restaurant chain is heading north and opening the doors of its first Pinellas location next month. The Tampa Bay Business Journal says that St. Pete’s first Wicked Cantina will open at 3650 Tyrone Blvd. N out of a former Sonny’s BBQ sometime in January. Wicked Cantina’s menu is stacked with expected Tex-Mex favorites like tacos, nachos, quesadillas, enchiladas and fajitas alongside a few American dishes like burgers and fish or chicken sandwiches. The restaurant offers a wide range of proteins for its various tacos and burritos, including chorizo, mahi mahi, shrimp, carnitas, brisket, grouper and shredded chicken. It also offers a separate vegan and gluten-free menu featuring dishes like butternut squash tacos and roasted veggie bowls. A selection of margaritas, draft beers, wines and other cocktails will join its expansive Tex-Mex menu. When St. Pete’s debut Wicked Cantina opens next year, it will be its third location in Tampa Bay. Its flagship location on Bradenton’s Anna Maria Island opened in 2014 and owners Mike and Janice Dolan opened a second restaurant in downtown Sarasota a few years later. 3650 Tyrone Blvd. N, St. Pete. wickedcantina.com
Canopy Road Cafe A Tallahassee-based cafe and breakfast spot continues its expansion throughout the greater Tampa area. Canopy Road Cafe’s newest location soft opened at 11220 Sullivan St. in Riverview last week, and is already dishing out the loaded breakfast plates it’s known for. Riverview’s Canopy Road Cafe will be its first location with a full bar program, although partner Dave Burton tells Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that he's still waiting for the liquor license to be approved. In the meantime, the cafe and restaurant boasts the same food and coffee menu as its 11 other locations throughout the Sunshine State. Specializing in traditional, diner-inspired fare with its “own little twists”, the cafe dishes out classics like biscuits and gravy, omelettes, eggs benedict, breakfast burritos, pancakes, loaded French toasts, waffles and skillets alongside lunch items like sandwiches, salads and burgers. Canopy Road serves coffee from Lucky Goat Coffee Co., a Tallahassee-based roaster and wholesaler, as well as a variety of juice, tea and soda.The Tallahassee-based regional chain was founded by Tampa native Brad Buckenheimer and David Raney in 2007. Its name is inspired by the many tree canopies that populate the greater Tallahassee area, paying homage to the business’ origins. 11220 Sullivan St., Riverview. canopyroadcafe.com
Coming Soon
Cheeky’s A familiar name in Tampa's restaurant industry recently announced his latest venture, and he's headed across the bridge to The 'Burg. Willa's co-founder Nate Siegel will helm a new St. Pete concept called Cheeky's, a mix between a Southern chicken joint and a New England-style oyster bar that will dish out everything from fresh seafood and chowders to fried chicken, salads, sandwiches and more. Cheeky’s heads to the booming Grand Central District, and will soon be neighbors with Wild Child, Baba, Cappy’s Pizza and Bandit Coffee Co. While there’s no opening date set in stone, Cheeky’s is slated to debut sometime in 2024. It will be open for lunch and dinner service, in addition to weekend brunch and daily happy hours. Alongside its selection of seafood and chicken dishes, Cheeky’s will also offer beer, wine, frozen drinks, N/A beverages and craft cocktails. The mind behind Cheeky’s is local restaurateur Nate Siegel, co-founder of new American restaurant Willa’s in North Hyde Park. While Cheeky’s seems like it will be a tad more casual than its sibling concept across the bridge, Siegel says opening a restaurant on Central Avenue is a “dream come true.”
2823 Central Ave., St. Pete. Cheekys.net
Pepper Lunch Japanese “experimental” fast-casual concept Pepper Lunch is expanding into Florida with three cities confirmed—and one of those cities is Tampa. Tampa, Gainesville and Orlando will be home to 10 Pepper Lunch restaurants starting in late 2024, the chain's first locations in the Southeastern United States. Currently boasting 500 locations in 15 countries, Pepper Lunch—a teppanyaki concept where customers grill their own meats and veggies on an iron griddle—hopes to establish a permanent presence in Florida. On offer at the restaurant are steaks, curry rice dishes, teriyaki and even pasta. The chain prides itself on diners being able to get in, cook their meal, chow down and head back out the door in 20 minutes (if they so choose) with a price point under $20. There is no information as of this writing on potential addresses for the Tampa franchises. (A version of this post first appeared at our sibling publication Orlando Weekly.) pepperlunchrestaurants.com—Matthew Moyer
Events
Trash Panda’s ramen pop-up It’s no secret that Ichicoro's closure earlier this year left Seminole Heights in a ramen deficit, but folks can get their soup fix this weekend at an up-and-coming food truck’s pop-up—and its dishes might feel a bit familiar. Trash Panda Provisions hosts its ramen-themed pop-up at Common Dialect Brewery from 4 p.m.-9 p.m. this Friday, Dec. 15. The food truck will offer two types of traditional ramen and one brothless option loaded with chicharron, pickled ginger, a poached egg, chili oil, fish sauce and seasoned seaweed. Trash Panda’s traditional shoyu ramen features a chicken broth with sous vide chasu or braised pork belly, scallions, bamboo shoots and fried garlic, while its mushroom broth-based vegetarian option is topped with wilted greens, roasted mushrooms and corn. This new food truck came onto Tampa’s dining scene in late 2022, dishing out “familiar favorites and Asian inspired street food,” and pretty much anything else owner and operator Alberto “Tito” Jusi likes to eat. Jusi was part of the opening crew at the now-closed Ichicoro and worked at the Bib Gourmand-winning restaurant from its debut in 2015 until May 2021. 5023 N Florida Ave., Tampa. @trash_panda_provisions on Instagram
Event Details
Proceeds from St. Pete brewery’s upcoming happy hour will go to local beagle rescue Downtown St. Petersburg is home to a plethora of dog-friendly bars and breweries, but one business in particular consistently raises money for local shelters and rescue organizations throughout the year. Pinellas Ale Works (commonly stylized as “PAW”) hosts a special, holiday-themed installment of its “Yappy Hour” fundraiser on Thursday, Dec. 21, benefiting Tampa Bay Beagle Rescue Inc., a nonprofit “dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and re-homing of abused, neglected and at-risk beagles and beagle mix dogs.” A dollar from every beer sold between 6 p.m.-8 p.m. will be donated to the organization, and if you make a direct donation to TBBR, you can take a cute Christmas-themed photo with your pup. TBBR is also raffling off a 360-degree Furbo dog camera to help raise more funds for its beagle-saving mission. PAW hosts its “Yappy Hour” each Thursday, benefitting a different rescue-focused organization each week.1962 First Ave. S, St. Pete. pawbeer.com
The 20 most-anticipated new restaurants coming to Tampa Bay in 2024 While this past year welcomed in some great new dining spots in Tampa Bay, there's about to be even more to dish out. Over the next 12 months, diners can expect to see everything from new dumpling spots, new fish and chicken shacks, a couple high-end steak houses, a drive-thru Wawa and more. Here are a few of the hottest new eats coming soon to the Bay.
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