Ybor City restaurateur Richard Gonzmart landed a breathtaking restaurant location for Tampa Heights’ much-anticipated Ulele, which opened late August. At the corner of West Seventh and North Highland avenues in a former pump house built in 1902, Ulele is nestled right along the Hillsborough River, providing onlookers with panoramic east-and-west views of the water and sunset, as well as up-close peeks at manatees, if they happen to be in the neighborhood. Gonzmart has said more than once that he hopes the restaurant will be his legacy. If you haven’t checked out the come-stay-awhile setting from the adjacent Water Works Park or the extended Tampa Riverwalk path, catch the view from Ulele’s beer garden, rooftop patio or mezzanine dining level.
This article appears in Sep 18-24, 2014.