Joe Dodd took a trip to Nashville earlier this year and returned to Tampa inspired.
The restauranteur, known around Tampa Bay as the king of Nashville hot chicken, is collaborating with two fellow entrepreneurs to bring a new sit-down concept to Seminole Heights.
Dodd [King of the Coop], Travis Masters [Westshore Pizza] and Joey Redner [Cigar City/Rock Brothers Brewing] are taking over the old Refinery space on Florida Avenue and dubbing it Flocale — a Tampa spin on Nashville’s Yee-Haw, which Dodd described as the “dopest dining experience.”
Flocale-goers can get their grub on with Nashville hot chicken courtesy of King of the Coop and pizza, subs, wings and salads from Westshore Pizza. Rock Brothers Brewing will manage the bar.
Whether you’re a beer drinker or liquor drinker (or both), King of the Coop has a couple of surprises in store. The Cigar City crew is whipping up a King of the Coop pre-prohibition pilsner and Rock Brothers a King of the Coop white label corn whiskey.
After it opens, Flocale will evolve to include a 20-tap beer system with a walk-in cooler, a stage for live music, and karaoke brunch on the weekends.
With this collaborative effort, Dodd and Masters hope to set an example for surrounding neighborhoods. “There are big buildings like this one in every neighborhood,” Dodd told Business in Tampa. “Big business comes in and takes these buildings and prices everybody out; they don’t [care] about the neighborhood.”
“We want to do the opposite,” he explained. “We want to show other neighborhoods that if a group gets together, you can go and get these buildings and split your build-out costs amongst three, four, or five people. Now you’re able to start a restaurant with little individual investment and build up the neighborhood.”
Dodd anticipates King of the Coop (Seminole Heights) relocating to Flocale in December while the rest of the build-out will grind toward a mid-January launch.
Flocale (blend of “Florida-local”) is located at 5910 Florida Avenue.
Follow King of the Coop on Facebook and Instagram for updates.
Keep up with more Tampa Bay news with Business in Tampa.
