Bloomin' Brands will bring its fast-casual Aussie Grill to Brandon
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Dec 16, 2020

Bloomin' Brands Inc. plans to open an Aussie Grill in Brandon.

Bloomin', the Tampa-based parent company of Outback Steakhouse, debuted the fast-casual Aussie Grill in the U.S. at International Plaza in 2019. It's since become a growth vehicle for the company, and CEO David Deno told the Tampa Bay Business Journal in November that he plans to build a development pipeline of Aussie Grill locations.

In Brandon, Aussie Grill will open at 1426 W. Brandon Blvd. in a freestanding restaurant that was previously home to Wow! That's Fresh, a salad, burger and pizza joint created by the founders of Tampa-based chicken chain PDQ. The property is owned by a Canadian investor and wrapped up construction in 2014.

The building is just under 4,400 square feet, according to Hillsborough County property records. That's a bit larger than the prototype — a 2,600-square-foot standalone restaurant with a drive-thru, Deno said — but it's on a high-visibility stretch of Brandon Boulevard about a mile and a half from Westfield Brandon.

A Bloomin' (NASDAQ: BLMN) spokeswoman said the location should open in the spring.