Lumbre opened in Tampa on Wednesday, July 15, adding a modern Spanish menu in North Hyde Park at the Rome Collective development, 220 N Rome Ave. The opening lands as Tampa Bay restaurants are still dealing with higher rents, food costs and slower summer business.
Nick Orr, Lumbre’s Executive Chef and Co-Founder, led the kitchen when the restaurant opened. Orr previously ran the kitchen at Rocca, and Lumbre comes from Tastes Pretty Good.
North Hyde Park and Hyde Park
The summer openings have spread across Tampa neighborhoods, not just one corridor. Mita’s Cocina Moderna soft-opened on July 11 at 301 W Platt St. Ste C in Hyde Park, with handcrafted tacos, fajitas and signature tortas, including a 12-inch La Titan! built for sharing.
In the same stretch of summer, Sirikullaya “Layla” Martinez opened Chalawaan Thai Delish inside the Citgo gas station at 5018 N Armenia Ave. The menu is split into appetizers, noodles & fried rice, stir-fries & curry and desserts, with close to three dozen items priced from $6 to $18 and Thai teas and coffees at $5.
downtown Tampa and Ybor City
Other openings pushed beyond North Hyde Park. Bodega Bus opened at 505 N Franklin St. in downtown Tampa, in the same parcel as the former Taco Bus, and serves chopped cheese, smashburgers, chicken and steak over rice, loaded hot dogs and more. Khalil Mohammad owns the spot and said, “It won’t taste just like New York, it’ll taste better,” about the concept.
Double Six opened inside La Sétima Club at 815 E 7th Ave. on the edge of Tampa Heights and Ybor City. It serves cafe staples, a trio of specialties and a limited menu from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, including a coquito latte among its specialties.
Tampa Bay summer openings
The new restaurants cut across Spanish, Thai, Mexican and late-night concepts, giving Tampa Bay diners more options in neighborhoods from North Hyde Park to downtown Tampa. Taco Bus closed downtown in 2025, but still runs eight locations throughout the Bay area, leaving room for another late-night stop on the same parcel.
For diners, the practical change is simple: the summer map of places to eat is wider, and the openings are clustered in areas where people already move between lunch, dinner and late-night service. Lumbre, Chalawaan Thai Delish, Mita’s Cocina Moderna, Bodega Bus and Double Six give Tampa several new ways to eat without leaving the city core.
