The beginnings of a restaurant boom are underway in Riverview.
Three big names in restaurants have recently announced openings in Riverview, a Tampa suburb just south of Brandon. Tiki Docks, a massive-boat restaurant on the Alafia River, opened in early September; Mandola’s Italian Kitchen and Donovan’s Modern American Meatery are slated to open in October.
Real estate brokers say restaurants are hungry for space in Riverview — even amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. Restaurants have been among the businesses hardest hit by the pandemic and state-ordered shutdowns to slow the virus’ spread; while Gov. Ron DeSantis said restaurants could operate at full indoor capacity on Sept. 25, restaurants had been operating under 50 percent capacity since mid-May.
“The Riverview market has certainly been underserved for a long time, and a lot of those customers were forced to drive into Brandon for years,” said Brian Bern, senior director at Franklin Street in Tampa.
… “As the growth continues to push down [Highway] 301, it’s amazing to see all these new restaurants coming to the market,” he said, “and they all seem to be seeing some significant success. If we didn’t have coronavirus, I think it would be even more visible.”
Read the full story from the Tampa Bay Business Journal.
