Tampa Bay’s first Cook Out officially opens today near USF

A Cook Out restaurant fast-food meal featuring a grilled chicken sandwich with lettuce and tomato, a side of french fries, a corn dog on foil, a branded drink cup, and a white paper takeout bag on a red table. Cook Out Credit: Cook Out/Facebook

Popular North Carolina-based fast food chain Cook Out has opened its first Tampa Bay location in Temple Terrace.

Located at 5501 E. Fowler Ave., the new Cook Out outpost soft-opened Thursday, but officially celebrates its grand-opening today, July 17, in the roughly 3,272 square-foot building formerly home to a Boston Market.

Cook Out’s menu centers around a variety of American-style fast food offerings with over 40 milkshakes, fresh char grilled hamburgers, hot dogs, BBQ, chicken, corn dogs, quesadillas, hushpuppies, fries and more.

This is the first of multiple Cook Outs planned for the Tampa Bay area, with locations soon to open in Carrollwood and St. Petersburg.

The 35-year-old chain has been rapidly expanding as of late, and already has over 300 locations mostly in North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Mississippi.

Pitch in to help make the Tampa Bay Journalism Project a success.

Subscribe to Creative Loafing newsletters.

This article appears in July 16 – 22, 2026.

Tags: