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You can now get organic fruits, vegetables and meats from Tampa's Meacham Urban Farm delivered right to your doorstep.
Trellis at Buchman After a year and a half of displaying “coming soon” signs in its windows, Ybor City’s newest beer and wine will (softly) open its doors this week. Trellis at Buchman will soon make its debut at 1910 E 7th Ave. in the heart of Ybor City, adjacent to other popular businesses like Zydeco Brew Werks, Chill Bros. Scoop Shop and 7th + Grove. The new bar and stylish lounge is helmed by owner and beer enthusiast Joel Bigham, who operated popular biergarten Fermented Reality in downtown Tampa's Sparkman Wharf until 2021. Bigham tells Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that his newest venture soft opens on Tuesday and Wednesday, Nov. 21-22. The new bar and “tropical plant paradise” will open at 5 p.m. each day, featuring cellared draft selections, specialty releases, 10 wines by the glass and over 35 bottles and cans of both alcoholic and N/A beverages. Trellis offers both local brews from the Bay area and craft beers from microbreweries across the country, in addition to specialty European brews and everyday options like Modelo and Bud Light. 1910 E 7th Ave., Ybor City. @trellispub on Instagram
Concrete Jungle Many of us have fond memories of pre-pandemic Central Avenue, where you could stumble upon Iberian Rooster’s open mic night or a raunchy drag show on any given day. The restaurant's doors have been closed since 2021, but a brand new concept just opened out of its former two-story space at 475 Central Ave. N. Concrete Jungle, a “Tulum and Yucatán Peninsula-inspired” concept from Hunger + Thirst Restaurant Group, made its debut on Central Avenue earlier this week, with a lounge and bar downstairs and its restaurant portion on the ground floor. Its vegetable and seafood-forward menu features dishes like jackfruit flautas, charred watermelon, a truffled mushroom and chorizo flatbread and pan-seared salmon. Concrete Jungle is now open from 11:30 a.m.-3 a.m. every day and reservations can be made directly on its website 475 Central Ave., St. Pete. concretejunglestpete.com
Caribou Cafe The Tampa Bay Business Journal announced that Caribou Coffee was making its way to the Gulf Coast last spring, and its first Tampa Bay location will soon open its doors on Central Avenue. St. Pete’s Caribou Coffee will open at 701 Central Ave. (out of the former Banyan Cafe space) on Friday, Nov. 24 according to ILovetheBurg, and its owner Michelle Mathis already has plans to open several more throughout the greater Tampa Bay area. Its menu consists of expected coffees and lattes with various flavors, in addition to breakfast and lunch sandwiches, bagels, oatmeal, yogurt parfaits, baked goods and seasonal beverages. Caribou Coffee was founded in Minnesota back in 1992, and now boasts over 400 locations across the U.S., most of which are still in the midwest. 701 Central Ave., St. Pete. locations.cariboucoffee.com
Closings
Oaks on 4th A few weeks shy of celebrating its first anniversary in St. Pete, American restaurant Oaks on 4th announced its unfortunate, and immediate closure. The casual eatery with fine dining-level cuisine located 4351 4th St. N served its very last customers earlier this week. “Unfortunately, despite our best efforts and the tireless dedication of our team, we have made the difficult decision to close Oaks on 4th,” the restaurant posted on social media last Friday, Nov. 17. “We have faced unforeseen challenges and obstacles that ultimately hindered our ability to continue operations.” Although the popular restaurant made a lengthy farewell post on social media continuously thanking its loyal customers and staff, its owners did not address any specific reasons for its closure. Oaks on 4th did not have a long life on St. Pete’s bustling 4th Street N. Paul and Burton Bullard, the owners of Bascom’s Chop House—Clearwater’s beloved old school steakhouse—opened the casual restaurant out of a former Quickies BBQ in December of 2022. 4351 4th St. N, St. Pete. oakson4th.com
Events
Highball 2023 Each year, Creative Loafing Tampa Bay aims to answer the loaded question of "who makes the best cocktail in Tampa Bay?" at its annual Highball party. 2023’s Highball event and competition happens on Friday, Dec. 8 at St. Pete’s Nova 535. Just a few of the local restaurants and bars that are participating in this year’s Highball competition include American Social, The Dunedin Smokehouse, Jotoro, Red Mesa Cantina, The Living Room, Blur Nightclub and The Hangar, alongside several other concepts. Several different types of alcohol will be featured in the competitor's highball samples, from gin and vodka to whiskey and bourbon. Early bird general admission tickets run for $65 each and include unlimited cocktail samples from Highball competitors, photo ops and the chance to vote for your favorite drink in each spirit category, as well as “Tampa Bay's Best Highball.” 535 Dr. M.L.K. Jr. St. N., St. Pete. highballtampabay.com ICYMI
Two Tampa eateries make OpenTable’s annual ‘Top 100 Restaurants’ list Each year, reservation company OpenTable releases a list of its 100 best restaurants in the country based on over “12 million verified diner reviews and dining metrics"—and two local restaurants have made 2023’s illustrious roundup. The Tampa Edition’s Mediterranean concept Lilac—one of three restaurants that won the city’s first Michelin stars earlier this year—and local institution Bern’s Steak House are listed on OpenTable’s Top 100 Restaurants of 2023 list, which was released just a few days ago. South Tampa’s Bern’s Steak House (1208 S Howard Ave.) has been around since 1956 and boasts an old school menu of dry-aged steaks and sides, a unique dessert lounge and one of the largest wine collections in the world. Forbes magazine even deemed it one of “The World’s Best Steakhouses” earlier this year. The Tampa Edition’s Mediterranean-inspired concept Lilac contrasts Bern’s classic and traditional approach to fine dining. Its contemporary menu from Chef John Fraser and use of “Florida-focused ingredients and French techniques” earned one of the city’s first Michelin stars back in May, alongside Rocca and Koya.
Tampa’s Meacham Urban Farm (1108 E Scott St.) recently teamed up with local delivery service Growing Rootz to provide organic fruit, vegetables and other goods to the greater Tampa area. Anything available for purchase at Meacham's farm store is now available for delivery throughout Tampa, Carollwood, Temple Terrace, Lutz and Wesley Chapel. You can place orders by 4 p.m on Tuesday and get it delivered the following Friday. Locally-produced goods that are currently available for delivery include organic eggs, spring mix, different types of tomatoes, raw milk, squashes, sweet potatoes, cucumbers and a variety of lettuces, greens and herbs. Please email the farm at [email protected] if you have any questions about its newly-launched delivery service. And you prefer to get your locally-grown ingredients in-person, Meacham recently expanded the hours for its farm store and is now open Friday-Monday in downtown Tampa.
Fo’Cheezy Twisted Meltz founder Robert Hesse, known for his multiple grilled cheese restaurants and food trucks throughout the greater Tampa Bay area, recently announced that he is the new executive chef of the contemporary American restaurant 717 South. Located in the heart of South Tampa at 717 S Howard Ave., 717 South boasts a globally-inspired menu featuring appetizers like deep-fried risotto balls, seared scallops over cauliflower puree, and lump crab cakes—although owner Michael Stewart told Fox 13 that Hesse's upcoming menu consists of "about 90% new dishes."
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