State Flour Bakery started out selling sourdough from a pop-up window at Pro Kitchen Hub, and in 2023 it moved next door into a storefront of about 500 square feet on South Dale Mabry Highway. In January it moves to a 4,000-square-foot space in Lutz. On October 8, V Modern Italian opened a 7,000-square-foot dining room in North Hyde Park. The bakery has a loyal following, and V Modern is South Tampa's newcomer. The difference between them comes down to space. This fall, the South Tampa businesses that need more room are finding it in new construction or leaving the neighborhood to get it. The ones staying are going smaller on purpose.
The same thing is happening on El Prado Boulevard, where the city is handing a travel lane in each direction over to bikes.
The Bakery That Outgrew Its Strip Mall
State Flour never baked in its own shop. As the Tampa Bay Times reported, the bakery does its production next door at Pro Kitchen Hub, a shared commercial kitchen for young food businesses. Co-owner Alex Flannery told the Times they can't expand much more there, even though their space inside has grown over the years.
The new home is 18450 U.S. 41 in Lutz, most recently Black Sheep American Pub. The owners got the keys in mid-September. The plan is a full bar, more seating and the sandwiches they've wanted to make on their own bread for years. They're starting with weekend brunch and plated dishes, and evening hours may come later. Flannery described it to the Times as "more like a chef-driven Panera Bread."
South Tampa regulars aren't losing the bakery entirely. Alex Marsilio and Flannery told the Times they plan to keep a small retail shop in the area, stocked from the Lutz kitchen. So South Tampa keeps the storefront and the baking moves north. The Times described the shop as near MacDill Air Force Base, drawing customers from as far as Sarasota and Wesley Chapel. A main kitchen up north that supplies small storefronts elsewhere is how the owners say they may grow from here.
Here are this fall's footprints side by side:
| Place | Square footage | Where |
|---|---|---|
| State Flour Bakery, current shop | about 500 | South Dale Mabry Highway |
| State Flour Bakery, January home | 4,000 | 18450 U.S. 41, Lutz |
| V Modern Italian | 7,000 | 1701 W. North A St., Rome Collective |
| Rome Collective, whole project | about 38,000 | N. Rome Ave. and N. A St. |
Where the Big Rooms Went
A 7,000-square-foot restaurant needs a building made for it. In North Hyde Park, that building is Rome Collective. That's So Tampa described it in 2024 as a roughly 38,000-square-foot retail development from Asana Partners at the northwest corner of North Rome Avenue and North A Street. Current leasing materials still show open units, and a Riverwalk extension is planned alongside the project.
Lumbre, a wood-fired Spanish restaurant from Tastes Pretty Good, was the first restaurant there and was open by mid-July, according to That's So Tampa. V Modern Italian opened on October 8 as the second.
The Tampa Bay Times described the room as dark and moody, with walnut details, velvet upholstery and murals by the Spanish artist duo PichiAvo. A replica of a fruiting olive tree stands in the main dining room. The kitchen partners with Michelin-starred chef Stefano Ciotti. The menu runs from vodka rosa with stracciatella and Calabrian chili to a 16-ounce prime rib eye and an on-the-bone lamb shank. The house pilsner is brewed by BarrieHaus Beer Co. in Ybor City. According to the Times, the team plans to stay open until 3 a.m. on weekends.
V is a global brand, with locations in Belgium, Spain and Saudi Arabia and U.S. outposts in Charleston and Kansas City. That kind of operator looks for new space with a large, open floor plate, and North Hyde Park now has it.
The Smaller Branch With Its Own Parking Lot
Two miles southwest, a downtown institution went smaller on purpose. Hattricks has been a sports hub at 107 S. Franklin St. since 1997. On October 7 it opened a quick-service location at 4075 Henderson Blvd. in Culbreath Heights. The Times called it a smaller branch of the original. It has a handful of tables on a covered patio, a few window-facing barstool seats inside, packaged beer and wine, ice cream and a dedicated parking lot.
On Henderson, a dedicated parking lot may matter more than seating. The menu includes the "Dave's Way" wings and two items that debuted here: the 813 Legends Steak Sandwich, with shaved ribeye and chive aioli for $18.50, and a double smash burger made with Niman Ranch beef for $15.50, both as of opening week. Hours are 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and until midnight Friday and Saturday.
SoHo's most visible change this fall also skipped new construction and used a room that already existed. Meeting House reopened in Daily Eats' former space at 901 S. Howard Ave., serving lunch, dinner and weekend brunch, That's So Tampa reported in August. On Kennedy Boulevard, The Violet Stone has announced a second location at 3664 W. Kennedy Blvd. When the Times reported it on September 10, the opening was expected in about four weeks, so its own channels are the best place to check for an opening date.
El Prado Gives Up a Lane
The reallocation of space reaches the street too. The City of Tampa lists the El Prado Boulevard Complete Streets project as under construction, with a planned run from June 1, 2026 to March 10, 2027 and an estimated cost of about $6.1 million. That leaves roughly four and a half months on the schedule from today.
The city's project page covers the 2.2 miles from South Omar Avenue to South MacDill Avenue, which is currently four lanes divided by a 10-foot landscaped median, plus the quarter mile from MacDill to Bayshore Boulevard. When the work is done, one 11-foot travel lane will remain in each direction. The other lane becomes a 6-foot bike lane with a 3-foot buffer. Continuous sidewalks are programmed along the north side. The city's figures put daily traffic on the four-lane stretch between 4,200 and 8,900 vehicles, and about 1,650 east of MacDill.
Not everyone agrees on the trade. In May, Bay News 9 reported that South Tampa residents were divided. An online petition asking the city to reconsider had more than 1,000 signatures, and opponents worried about bottlenecks on one of the area's few major east-west corridors. A city spokesperson said traffic studies show the road is underused. Questions about the work go to [email protected], the contact the city lists on the project page.
For trips downtown, there's a longer change. Starting at 8 p.m. on October 20, South Tampa Street is closed at East Brorein Street. The closure lasts about two years while crews install support pillars for the Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority's South Selmon Capacity Project. The city's notice says traffic on the Selmon has grown more than 80 percent over the past decade, according to THEA. Drivers are routed to a temporarily converted eastbound lane on Brorein, which gives direct access to Franklin Street.
Before Thanksgiving
Public spaces are on longer timelines. In February, Tampa Bay Business & Wealth reported that a city official gave City Council a rough three-to-four-year estimate for restoring Ballast Point Pier, covering design and construction, and said not to hold them to it. The city showed an updated Swann Park design at an August 27 open house at Kate Jackson Community Center but has not posted a construction date.
The dated events are close:
- Through Sunday, October 25: The Pumpkin Patch in Hyde Park Village's Village Circle, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Purchases benefit the Humane Society of Tampa Bay.
- Saturday, October 24: The Hyde Park Pet Parade on Hyde Park streets. The city lists it from 10 a.m. to noon.
- Thursday, November 26: The Tampa YMCA Turkey Gobble, 7 to 10 a.m., in the Channelside and Bayshore area.
- January: State Flour Bakery opens in Lutz, with a smaller South Tampa shop planned to follow.
Owners who are weighing what their home is worth also start with space: what the house has, what the next buyer needs, and whether the move is about more room or a better location. If you're thinking it through this season, the Brenda Wade Team can walk you through what homes on your South Tampa street have been selling for and how to prepare yours to sell.
