Kingsford Fire Grille to open this summer at WestShore Plaza
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: May 3, 2021

A charcoal grill-themed restaurant will debut this summer at WestShore Plaza.

Kingsford Fire Grille will open in July in the former Mitchell's Fish Market 7,900-square-foot space, the restaurant said Monday. The Tampa Bay Business Journal first reported that the Kingsford concept would take over Mitchell's real estate in November 2020.

Restaurant industry veteran Michael DeMaio signed a licensing deal with charcoal grill maker Kingsford to pursue the concept. It will have a large takeout area for to-go meals and bundled grill packs that include meats, sides, seasonings and charcoal. Grilling and cooking classes will be hosted in the restaurant.

But it's also very much an experiential dining concept, with tableside DIY s'mores, cocktails with grilled accoutrements and dishes served in a sizzling skillet.

Kingsford bills the restaurant as "Tampa's new 'it' destination." If that turns out to be the case, it will be a major boon for WestShore Plaza. Enclosed shopping malls across the U.S. have struggled as more customers turn to open-air centers and online shopping in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

"Guests can expect an unapparelled dining experience that will invoke the sentimental joys of a backyard cookout, but with an elevated flare," DeMaio said in a statement. "Where the weather is sunny almost every day of the year, we believe Tampa WestShore Plaza is the ideal location to launch our concept."

The concept has been in development for three years, and DeMaio said more units are in the works.