Celebrity Chef Fabio Viviani's Bradenton restaurant begins construction
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Sep 22, 2023

An upscale steakhouse and seafood restaurant from celebrity chef Fabio Viviani is under construction in Bradenton.

Viviani has once again teamed up with Wesley Chapel-based Babb Hospitality to open Taverna Toscana in a 10,000-square-foot storefront on the plaza level of Sunz Insurance building. Steve Herrig, CEO of Sunz, is also a partner in the restaurant.

Summit Design + Build, the general contractor on the project, announced Thursday that construction has begun. It is expected to wrap up in early 2024.

Barker Nestor Inc. is the architect on the project.

Viviani entered the Tampa Bay market in 2018 to open Osteria in collaboration with Tampa-based Nocturnal Hospitality Group. Viviani and Nocturnal parted ways in 2020.

Since then, he and Babb Hospitality have opened Chuck Lager America's Tavern locations in Wesley Chapel, Oldsmar and Tampa's Westshore Marina District. They've also opened Taverna Costale in St. Petersburg and Amendment XXI in Tampa's WestShore Plaza.