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Wright\u2019s Gourmet House in South Tampa. Credit: Google Street<\/p>\nWright\u2019s Gourmet House in South Tampa. Credit: Google Street<\/p>\n
OPENINGS\/CLOSINGS<\/p>\n
Old Heights Bistro in Seminole Heights will close this weekend, moving to South Tampa<\/a><\/p>\n Old Heights Bistro<\/a>\u00a0is leaving Seminole Heights. After more than a decade at 4703 N Nebraska Ave., the popular neighborhood spot will serve its final guests this Saturday, July 25.\u00a0The new South Tampa location plans to open by late-August or early-September in Palma Ceia\u2019s former Brunchery space at 3225 S MacDill Ave., which is in the same plaza as Pane Rustica.\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Colin Wolf<\/p>\n Chalawaan Thai Delish just opened inside a gas station on Tampa\u2019s N Armenia Avenue<\/a><\/p>\n In Tampa, the stretch of N Armenia Avenue between Interstate-275 and Waters Avenue is known for international cuisine, be it Filipino (Lucky Tigre), South American (La Pequena Colombia, L.P.C.X, Antojito\u2019s) or even Italian (Cacciatore & Sons). Add Thai to the flavor profile, too. Chef Sirikullaya \u201cLayla\u201d Martinez opened\u00a0Chalawaan Thai Delish<\/a>\u00a0inside the Citgo gas station on 5018 N Armenia Ave. three months ago.\u00a0 Named after Chalawan, a folkloric crocodilian king revered in Martinez\u2019s home provinces of Phichit, the restaurant boasts a menu broken up into four sections\u2014appetizers, noodles & fried rice, stir-fries & curry, and desserts\u2014with close to three dozen items to choose from. Prices range between $6 (egg rolls, pot stickers) to $18 (fried catfish in green curry sauce); Thai teas and coffees are $5. \u2013\u00a0Ray Roa<\/p>\n After nearly 35 years, Tampa\u2019s Kim Bros. Korean market closes this weekend<\/a><\/p>\n After roughly 35 years, Tampa Korean market\u00a0Kim Bros.<\/a>\u00a0will close its doors after this weekend\u2014but it\u2019s not the end of its story. Jin Cha, one of the owners, and the woman responsible for making the killer kimchi so many have come to love, told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that while the lease is up here, Kim Bros. beloved foods that have grown a cult following can still be found in Temple Terrace at\u00a0Soul of Korea<\/a>\u00a0(7612 N 56th St.), and soon inside the H Mart food court. While H Mart is moving quickly during construction across the street, Kim Bros., located at 4021 W Hillsborough Ave., is discounting everything before it ends a historic run after Sunday. \u2013\u00a0Annalise Mabe<\/p>\n Tampa icon Wright\u2019s Gourmet House will open new locations in Brandon, Wesley Chapel<\/a><\/p>\n Two years have passed since longtime South Tampa favorite Wright\u2019s Gourmet House was sold to the\u00a0Caspers Company, and now the iconic sandwich shop and bakery will bring its popular sandwiches and sheet cakes to the suburbs. According to the\u00a0Tampa Bay Business Journal<\/a>, Wrights will open two new 15,000-square-foot locations\u2014one at 328 Brandon Town Center Drive in Brandon and the other at Wiregrass Ranch on State Road 56 in Wesley Chapel. Both outposts will include cafes, catering facilities, a market and more. No exact opening dates were announced, but the Brandon location will debut in suCOmmer 2027, while the Wesley Chapel spot has a rough target date of\u00a0 2028, says TBBJ.\u00a0\u2013 Colin Wolf<\/p>\n FOOD EVENTS<\/p>\n As it celebrates 11 years in Tampa, Jug & Bottle Dept. keeps building Seminole Heights\u2019 ultimate living room<\/a><\/p>\n On a Sunday afternoon, Jug & Bottle owner Jessie Wohlers, a now familiar-to-me-face, pours a glass of a crisp sauv blanc and gets right into the topic of the shop\u2019s 11th anniversary this weekend. She discusses where the shop\u2014located at 6203 N. Florida Ave. in Seminole Heighs\u2014has been, its legacy and how to protect, expand and move it forward. She\u2019s been in the neighborhood for a while, and took over the shop in February 2025. It\u2019s no secret that the neighborhood is changing. Less than two miles away, Southern Brewing & Winery is closing after 18 years in business. Old Heights Bistro is moving to South Tampa, and there\u2019s uncertainty about the future of the wildly-popular Angry Chair Brewing. In fact, when Wohlers took over, and even to this day, folks sometimes still walk in and say, \u201cHey, I thought you closed?\u201d But far from that, Wohlers is steadily building on what\u2019s been here, and taking the place to new heights. The little changes happen daily as Wohlers applies new paint to walls, rearranges, or gets a new fridge installed for all of the shop\u2019s special bottles of bubbly. \u201cWe\u2019re creating a space that allows Jug & Bottle to have a new relevance,\u201d Wohlers told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. \u201cWe\u2019re bringing two legacy businesses into the future in a thoughtful way.\u201d \u2013\u00a0Annalise Mabe<\/p>\n FOOD FEATURES<\/p>\n Three Tampa Bay restaurants proving that vegan eateries are staying alive Pitch in to help make the Tampa Bay Journalism Project a success.<\/a><\/p>\n Subscribe to Creative Loafing newsletters.<\/a><\/p>\n Follow us:\u00a0Google News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0NewsBreak<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Reddit<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Facebook\u00a0<\/a>|\u00a0BlueSky<\/a><\/p>\n This article appears in July 23 \u2013 29, 2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n \t
<\/a>When vegan restaurant\u00a0Good Intentions opened in 2022<\/a>, Tampa Bay\u2019s vegan and vegetarian dining scene looked very different.\u00a0 \u201cThere were a lot of vegans here; There were a lot of vegan businesses,\u201d Good Intentions co-owner Jenny Howe told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.\u00a0 \u201cAnd that trend kind of took a step back.\u201d In the mid-2010s, and continuing into the early-2020s, public interest in vegetarian and plant-based lifestyles grew exponentially\u2014arguably<\/a>\u00a0sparked by an onslaught of documentaries and the COVID-19 pandemic.\u00a0 Now, the cost of living has reached a record high and pushback from the Robert F. Kennedy Jr.-led Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Movement has fueled misinformation and negative associations with meatless diet staples like\u00a0soy<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0seed oils<\/a>.\u00a0 \u201cI think that we don\u2019t have the backing of the government like the beef and dairy industry to lobby, to make influencers eat sticks of butter and a raw piece of meat and convince hundreds of thousands of people that this is the new diet,\u201d Howe said. \u2013\u00a0Ray Roa<\/p>\n