St. Pete poke bowl favorite Pacific Counter is opening in downtown Tampa this summer

Pacific Counter will bring its “good food and good vibes” when it opens its third location this summer in downtown Tampa.

Serving signature ready-to-order Counter Creations and Build Your Own poke bowls, sushi burritos and a wide selection of beverages, the St. Petersburg restaurant is expanding its franchise over the bridge after four years of searching.

“When we started looking for locations back in 2017 our search was focused on Tampa, but we ultimately ended up in Downtown St. Pete, so it feels really good to have the opportunity to move forward with a Tampa location now.” Eric Bialik, Co-Founder at Pacific Counter, wrote in a press release.

And they picked a sweet location in the heart of downtown Tampa to do so. The restaurant will be located at North Ashley Drive and West Tyler Street in the Modera Apartments building, right around the corner of The Riverwalk, Straz Center, Glazer Children’s Museum and The University of Tampa.

Bialik is no stranger to Tampa as he served as the former general manager of Ciro’s Speakeasy near Bayshore and Grille One Sixteen on Dale Mabry Highway before opening Pacific Counter.

“I look forward to being back in Tampa where I originally became established in the restaurant industry,” Bialik said.

In addition to its food, favorite of non-seafood eaters, and vegetarians/vegans, the new Pacific Counter will feature a new ordering system with in-house kiosks and a new digital ordering platform.

Pacific Counter’s St. Petersburg location blew up since its opening in 2018 becoming a favorite for many, leading them to operate during Rays baseball games, events like Enchant Christmas and opening a second location in Lakewood Ranch (coincidentally celebrating its one year anniversary yesterday).

Its bowls are widely known and have been recognized in Creative Loafing’s Best of The Bay Awards (“Best Poke Bowls.”).

The owners have the aspiration of opening more locations and becoming an even more established business in the bay.

“We remain focused on our goal of serving good food and good vibes throughout the Tampa Bay area and we would ultimately like to become one of Tampa Bay’s homegrown brands with seven to ten locations throughout the region,” Chitthasack Noythanongsay, Pacific Counter’s third Co-Founder, said.

The new location is currently in the design stages with construction set to start once the apartment building is completed in April.

Hours of operation will be 11 a.m.-9 p.m. daily.