Flocale, a Westshore Pizza and King of the Coop mashup in Seminole Heights, has closed
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Oct 30, 2023

Flocale, which combined Tampa favorites King of the Coop and Westshore Pizza under one Seminole Heights roof, has closed.

King of the Coop owner Joe Dodd and Westshore Pizza franchisee Travis Masters confirmed the closure to the Tampa Bay Business Journal on Monday.

Dodd said he plans to open a King of the Coop location inside Ybor City’s Cigar City Cider and Mead by Nov. 8. Masters, who was previously CEO of Westshore Pizza but has since become a franchisee, said he is still in negotiations with Westshore Pizza founder Bob Vasaturo and the owners of the Flocale space. He said he’d like to reopen the restaurant solely as a Westshore Pizza, but nothing has been finalized.

The 8,000-square-foot restaurant at 5910 N. Florida Ave. is owned by a partnership that includes Greg and Michelle Baker, the couple who previously ran The Refinery there. Michelle Baker declined comment Monday.

Flocale opened on North Florida Avenue in late 2021.

Dodd and Masters said in separate interviews that food costs were the reason for Flocale’s closure. There were 30 employees, Dodd said, and two will come with him to the Ybor location. Masters said the remaining employees will need to interview for their positions if Westshore Pizza is able to move forward in the North Florida Avenue location.

“It was a financial decision,” Dodd told the Business Journal. “Summer was brutal. Food costs were brutal. We started making changes in October, and they were going great, but the financial side didn’t turn.”

Westshore Pizza has lower food costs by the nature of its business, Masters said. Pizza makes up 60% of the chain’s sales; of those pizza orders, 80% are cheese pizzas, he said.

“Pizza’s food costs are much less expensive than a protein-based business,” Masters said. “Proteins are expensive. The two concepts have completely different economics.”