The owner of Southfin Southern Poké has filed for permits to build out a second restaurant at 7474 Corporate Blvd., Suite 206, in the space previously occupied by Popcorn Bistro.
Trey Williams says plans for the second location, first announced last fall, are running behind schedule, adding he now hopes to have the 1,600-square-foot restaurant open by late April.
“Everything with construction takes longer than it’s supposed to,” he says. “You can’t establish an opening date because you never know how long it’s going to take, but hopefully later this spring.”
The build out will cost an estimated $100,000 and will include interior renovations to the space, which is located in the shopping center that’s home to Christian Street Furniture, Smashburger and Serop’s Café, among others.
Southfin Southern Poké is a concept restaurant based on Hawaiian street food. Since opening his first restaurant last March in the Southdowns Shopping Center, Williams has said he plans to grow the brand and expand to multiple locations.
Meanwhile, owners of another new restaurant are also hoping for an April opening. The owners of the newly opened Bengal Tap Room at 421 Third St. say construction on Cecilia, the traditional Creole restaurant they will open in space adjacent to the bar, is running behind schedule but moving forward.
“We still don’t have a firm date but we’re hoping for the middle of April,” says Dustin Malina, who is partnering in the venture with Kalurah Street Grill co-owner Brad Watts and Jolie Pearl Oyster Bar general manager Eric Carnegie. “It’s coming along and should be ready soon.”
The Bengal Tap Room, a sports bar and grill, opened in January in the 3,000-square-foot space formerly occupied by The Draft House, which closed in late October.
Cecilia will be located in the adjacent 3,000-square-foot space that was most recently occupied by Restaurant IPO, which closed in 2016. Above Cecilia, in the space that was once home to The Office bar and, more recently, The Break Room, will be a 6,000-square-foot private event space called The Loft at Cecilia.
