A major dining and retail destination is coming soon to Ybor City
Ten Rooms, helmed by veteran Tampa bar consultant and restaurateur Ro Patel, will open inside Ybor’s El Centro Español.

By Helen Freund
Tampa Bay Times
Published: Feb 27, 2024

TAMPA — A historic Ybor City landmark has been transformed into an ambitious new dining and entertainment hub, courtesy of two big names in local and national hospitality.

Ten Rooms, a multi-functional dining, drinking and retail space, will open later this year at 1536 East Seventh Ave., inside Ybor’s El Centro Español de Tampa.

Tampa Bay bar consultant and restaurateur Ro Patel is behind the project, which he envisions as a hybrid experience combining a fine dining restaurant called Bar Martinez, a cocktail bar, a cafe and a retail shop with spaces for rotating art displays and seating throughout.

Patel is joined by chief operating officer Zach Pace, another veteran of the hospitality and wine industry whose resume includes managing and running operations at several lauded West Coast restaurants including Michelin-starred San Francisco spots Lazy Bear and Aphotic.

The building occupies a long-vacant space across from Centro Ybor on a stretch that has seen plenty of change over the years, and the project marks a pivotal moment in Ybor City’s ongoing renaissance.

Though an exact opening date has yet to be finalized (the team says they are still waiting on several permits, including their certificate of occupancy), Ten Rooms appears to be in the final stages of preparations.

Here’s everything to know about the spot ahead of its big launch.

The building

The historic building on the corner of East Seventh Avenue and North 16th Street dates back to 1912 and was the former headquarters and clubhouse of Centro Español, Tampa’s first social club for immigrants.

The building (which was sold following dwindling club membership in 1983 and later restored as part of the shopping and entertainment complex Centro Ybor) was most recently home to steak restaurant Carne ChopHouse, but has sat vacant for several years.

Patel, who is originally from London but has called Tampa home since the early 2000s, signed a lease on the building at the end of 2022 and said he was taken by the building’s historic charm and versatility. The co-founder of popular cocktail hub Ciro’s Speakeasy is now an Ybor resident himself, and said he was drawn to the building’s large foyer, which he envisions will appeal to Ybor’s heavy pedestrian presence — a place where folks can pop in for a drink or a bite or simply to shop and to admire the space.

Due to its National Historic Landmark designation, the building had to undergo a series of renovations, which is part of why opening Ten Rooms has taken longer than originally expected.

While certain details were required to stay intact (the floor still has all of the original tile work), the 5,000-square-foot bi-level space now includes a long entryway, a lobby bar and an elevated restaurant space with tall windows overlooking Seventh Avenue.

The shop

When guests enter the building, a roughly 900-foot space to the left will house the Ten Rooms retail component — a shop that will stock wine accessories, glassware, plants, apothecary items and special collectibles, Pace said.

Kitchen and bar accessories will include custom-engraved walnut-handled wine keys, hand-forged knives from local artisans, bench scrapers, shaker tins, linens and other textiles. There will also be a selection of vintage Ybor City postcards, collectible toys and photographs for sale. Eventually, the shop will also sell take-home specialty prepared foods, including canned stocks and sauces.

The restaurant

Bar Martinez will occupy an elevated platform on the right side of the building with a large wraparound bar and feature seating for roughly 55 people.

Pace described the menu as upscale American fine dining but emphasized the selection will still feel approachable.

“It’s not going to be foam or hard-to-wrap-your-head around (dishes),” he said. “Between the tourists and the workers here, there will be something for everyone.”

There will be a focus on locally-sourced products whenever possible. The restaurant has already established partnerships with local purveyors like Little Pond Farm, Worden Farm, Calusa Oyster Company and Anastasia Gold Caviar, among others. But the emphasis will focus more on quality regional ingredients, rather than hyper-local selections, Pace said, noting that the menu will always feature two rotating steak selections from White Oak Pastures in Georgia (the restaurant will dry-age steaks in-house, too).

Other features of the menu, which will have “southeastern and European influences,” will include house-cultured butter, a selection of house-fermented and preserved ingredients and brioche bread, which will be baked daily.

As of right now, the restaurant hasn’t named an executive chef. Patel had originally tapped the Michelin-starred chef Ebbe Vollmer, but later terminated his position and sued Vollmer for breach of contract after the chef left to open his own eponymous restaurant, Ebbe, which Patel alleged violated the terms of their agreement.

Both parties have since agreed to settle the lawsuit, court records show.

“While an unfortunate circumstance, we are happy to have reached an agreeable settlement and are keeping our focus on a successful opening,” Patel said. Vollmer did not immediately reply to an email for comment.

In the meantime, Pace said they’ve had several rounds of interviews with promising culinary candidates and have tapped Noel Guzmán Martinez as general manager, who previously worked at Rocca and Ponte Modern American.

“The Michelin isn’t the be all, end all,” Pace said, referring to the esteemed restaurant rankings system. “But we’re holding that as our guide. Without any hubris, I really do think we’re going to change the hospitality game for the better.”

The bar and cafe

A separate bar — Genevieve the Cat — will feature signature cocktails, small plates and snacks. It will function as a sister bar to the restaurant’s “Tayer” bar, which includes a custom buildout from Behind Bars, a Norwegian company that designed the original Tayer model at London cocktail bar Tayer & Elementary.

The bar’s unique design hinges on a honeycomb-shaped central station with moveable hexagons, lowboy freezers where chilled glasses will be kept and a 20-tap cocktail setup. The draft cocktail program will include roughly 12 spirit-based drinks, a couple of signature spiked seltzers and a few non-alcoholic spirits and cocktail options.

Patel, who is behind the bar program, has so far partnered with two spirit producers to distill signature gin, bourbon and rum for the bar, including Edgewater Spirits and Manifest Distilling.

Toward the back of the building, the Cafe at Ten Rooms will serve coffee and espresso drinks, fresh-pressed juices, French pastries and grab-and-go items daily.

The hours

Once open, Bar Martinez will serve dinner Tuesday through Saturday from 5-10 p.m. The lounge and Genevieve the Cat bar will be open daily from 12-10 p.m.

The Cafe at Ten Rooms will be open daily from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the shop will be open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.