Less than 20 minutes after the front doors unlocked for the first time, the entire bar inside Food + Beer was packed with eager customers ordering refreshing drinks and a variety of food options while the dining room quickly filled with families.
Music played throughout the restaurant as conversations blended together from crowded tables and bar seats. Staff members smiled, joked with one another and hurried between guests carrying trays of burgers, wings and cocktails.
Right before opening, the owners gave their staff one final reminder: “Smile, have fun and be nice, and everything will be fine.”
Food + Beer officially opened at 11705 W. Hillsborough Ave. in Tampa, taking over the former TGI Fridays location. The Sarasota-based sports bar brings its scratch-made menu, craft cocktails and late-night atmosphere to Town ’n’ Country seven days a week.
Co-founders Casey Daniels and Mike Whalen have worked in the hospitality industry since the early 2000s. Daniels said they wanted to create a place where hospitality workers could still grab food or drinks after late shifts, when many restaurants are already closed.
The restaurant is not only geared toward industry workers. Daniels said the goal is to create a sports bar atmosphere welcoming to everyone, with menu options ranging from classic burgers to Korean beef bowls.
"We want to make friends with as many people as possible," Daniels said.
Daniels said the company purchased the building late last year, and since January it has been “all hands on deck” preparing for opening day.
“The feedback we have gotten from the community has been amazing,” Daniels said. “I would be walking around and people would recognize me and tell me they were looking forward to opening day.”
Director of Marketing Cassi Knapik said the response online was immediate once the company announced its expansion into Town ’n’ Country.
“As soon as we posted we were coming here, applications started swarming our inboxes,” Knapik said.
Knapik said Food + Beer stands out from other sports bars because of its late-night hours and scratch-made kitchen.
“Our sauces are made in house, our fries are cut fresh in the morning and our boneless wings are chicken breast breaded and fried — no frozen food,” Knapik said.
Food + Beer also offers weekly specials, including Burger Mondays featuring a cheeseburger and fresh-cut fries for $6.99, Wednesday trivia nights starting at 6:30 p.m. and its popular 89-cent wing Thursdays. The restaurant also offers daily happy hour specials and weekend brunch featuring a build-your-own bottomless mimosa bar.
“The mimosa bar is a lot of fun,” Knapik said. “There are fruits and gummy bears people can add to their drinks all for $20.”
The sports bar is especially known for its burgers and signature crab rangoon mozzarella sticks.
Knapik said the Sarasota locations won “Best Burger” three years in a row.
An order of the crab rangoon mozzarella sticks comes with four pieces and a dipping sauce. The outside is crispy while the inside has the stringy texture of a mozzarella stick combined with the flavor of a crab rangoon.
Guests can order from the full menu until closing, and the restaurant plans to introduce seasonal limited-time cocktails and food items throughout the year.
Signature cocktails range from $10 to $13, while fish bowls cost $25. Along with classic beer selections, Food + Beer also features rotating brews from local breweries.
“We are excited to be open and hope the community enjoys the atmosphere and the great food,” Knapik said.
As the night continued, more guests filtered through the doors while bartenders mixed drinks and servers moved between crowded tables.
Food + Beer is open Sunday through Thursday until 1 a.m. and Friday through Saturday until 2 a.m.