Exclusive: First-of-its-kind restaurant will take over the old Mitchell's Fish Market at WestShore Plaza
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Nov 2, 2020

A new restaurant is taking over the former Mitchell's Fish Market space at WestShore Plaza in Tampa — and the new eatery is the first of its kind in the U.S.

Restaurant industry veteran Michael DeMaio has signed a licensing deal with charcoal grill maker Kingsford to open Kingsford Grille, a casual dining restaurant that will serve charcoal grilled steaks, burgers, barbecue and charcoal-infused drinks. Ideally, it will open in April or May 2021, DeMaio said, though that's dependent on the city permitting and inspection process.

The initial buildout cost is pegged at $600,000 in city permits; iConstructors is the general contractor on the project.

Both the location and nature of the project — a casual dining restaurant in an enclosed shopping mall — run counter to industry trends. But WestShore Plaza is close to thousands of office workers and an affluent residential neighborhood just south of Kennedy Boulevard. A major redevelopment of the mall, which will add residential units, office space and a grocery store to the property, has received preliminary city approval.

A spokeswoman for mall ownership, Ohio-based Washington Prime Group Inc., was not immediately available for comment Monday.

The 7,900-square-foot space is Kingsford's first restaurant location, DeMaio said, but he's already planning to look for more sites. Jeremy Kral at Southeast Retail Group represents Kingsford in the real estate search, and DeMaio said they're looking at sites in both Hillsborough and Pinellas counties for the second location.

Future locations will range between 6,500 and 7,500 square feet, DeMaio said. He said the Mitchell's space, while on the larger side of the restaurant's ideal prototype, was too good to pass up.

"WestShore Plaza is one of those anchors," he said, "it's about being in the business district — near so many cool things, like the Bucs stadium, the airport, the Yankees [spring training facility]."

Initially, DeMaio, whose resume includes 25 years at Brinker International Inc., was planning to open the first Kingsford location in South Florida. But the lease didn't pan out, and the Mitchell's spot opened after the state-ordered shutdown to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Mitchell's closed in May after 14 years at WestShore Plaza. The mall's owner filed a lawsuit against Mitchell's in September, demanding more than $200,000 in back rent and unpaid rent through the end of the lease, which was set to expire in January 2021.

"I think it’s a tough time to be in the business, but I think it’s a great time to start up a business," DeMaio said of the restaurant industry. "With [virus-related restaurant closures], unfortunately, there’s great opportunity to open up a new concept. I love the location and I love the plans they have for development."