Daily Loaf

Gratzzi’s not dead yet! CineBistro ups the ante on beer and fries theaters! The Table will not be The Spot, or will it? Primi changes owners, but not much else!

Read on for all the details!

Gratzzi closed up shop in Baywatch a few weeks back, right around the same time that Pacific Wave closed on the other side of Downtown St. Pete. For Pacific Wave, the closure was about revenue, and the economy, and being tired of struggling in an industry that’s tough in the best of times. For Gratzzi, though, it was more about the fact that Baywalk is on life-support, with relatives eager to pull the plug and divide its meager posessions. Don’t count Gratzzi out. The Italian restaurant is planning to re-open in the former home of Pacific Wave before the end of the year, if things go well. Owner Domenic D’Angelo will scale back his upscale menu to concentrate on homier dishes that cater to diners’ reduced budgets, with the smaller space a better match for the more casual fare. Read the rest of this entry »

St. Pete’s The Table has ridden a rollercoaster of ups and (mostly) downs since it opened just two years ago. (The long tale, in chronological order: here, here, here, and here.) The original owners walked away from the place, then a new team of owners stepped in, chefs came and went, then the ownership shifted again.

It looks like more change is on the way. According to newish operating partner Andrew “Wilko” Wilkins, the restaurant will cease using The Table as its moniker after tomorrow night, and will close for approximately one week before re-opening as a “new restaurant tentatively named ‘THE’ Place, along side its new companion ‘THE’ Place To Go.”

Chef J. Ward will remain in the kitchen, and will spearhead a menu change that will Read the rest of this entry »

• The Table is in the midst of another shake-up, with 717 South Michael Stewart, former GM Joe Moledo out and Andrew Wilkins (formerly of Mad Fish and Ceviche) in as GM. This comes after a long history of turmoil, including the loss of chef Pedro Flores earlier this year. Looks like the restaurant’s new thrust will be for lower price points and fewer staff changes. (Mouth)

• Ella’s Folk Art Cafe, the first of a new generation of restaurant slated to open in Tampa and Seminole Heights, started serving this past weekend.

The Columbia, OktoBEERfest, Domenica Macchia, and Grattzi’s after the break: Read the rest of this entry »

Guess that Restaurant.com gift certificate I recently purchased is null and void.  I was just at Abol Bunna with the International Friends Meetup group and we enjoyed the food and service.  Sluggish economy + sluggish summer = another one bites the dust.

Here’s the email I received tonight from the restaurant: Read the rest of this entry »

CL received a brilliant and absurd gift basket today from St. Pete’s Wild Shrimp Company (including 4 cans of Colt .45, a cigarette-smoking monkey figure, Trojan Magnums and more – see after the break for a list of the goodies), but with the swag came some terrible news: Wild Shrimp Company is closing up this Saturday. Just after making CL’s list of Tampa Bay’s Top 50 Restaurants.

According to manager and minor partner James Walton, the decision was made just two days ago. Wild Shrimp is largely owned by a local, family-owned equipment company, “and if things were going well over there we’d have no trouble,” according to Walton.

“Its really bad, after Easter sales dropped in half for us and every other business I’ve talked to,” he told me. The restaurant’s losses are not excessive, and Wild Shrimp would have been able to survive the downturn if the original business plan was followed, but hasn’t had the $100k operating capital it was supposed to.

Walton spun a classic restaurant failure tale: Read the rest of this entry »

Charlie’s Wine Cellar, a seven-year-old wine and and nosh spot in SoHo, is closing its doors this weekend. In an email blast owner Glynn Giacone sited the demise of neighboring Whaley’s Market as one of the factors. This Friday marks the last of their many weekly wine and beer tastings.

You can help out Charlie’s — and help yourself — this week by taking advantage of their liquidation sale. Case discounts are massive: 1 case gets you 30% off, 2 gets you 35%, and three will get you the wine at 50% off. There are also discounts on individual bottle purchases and beer is a mere $4 a six-pack. If you want to toast the staff, all beer and wine by the glass is $1 with a food purchase.

Charlie’s will also hold a silent auction all week for a few kick-ass bottles from the cellar, including a bottle of 1975 Mouton, an Imperial of 1970 Markham cab, and a 1982 Cos d’Estournel. You’ll have to be present at Charlie’s blow-out goodbye tasting this Friday night to win, but that’s not much of a hardship.

On Saturday — the final day — Glynn and crew will be selling everything that’s not nailed down. Everything must go, including one of the best spots in South Tampa for a glass of wine with friends.