Ceviche Tapas owners buy restaurant

BUYER: Clearwater Restaurant Properties Inc. (principal: Joseph Orsino), Tampa

SELLER: Tio Pepe Inc.

PROPERTY: 2930 Gulf to Bay Blvd., Clearwater

PRICE: $1.2 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $125,000, May 1984 and $76,900, 1976

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Fowler White Boggs PA, Tampa

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: The owners of Ceviche Tapas Bar and Restaurants in Florida purchased the 9,056-square-foot Tio Pepe restaurant for $1.2 million.

The price equated to $133 per square foot.

The new owners, Tampa-based Clearwater Restaurant Properties Inc., plan to bring the Ceviche brand to the 34-year-old Spanish restaurant.

“We want to respect the history and culture of Tio Pepe,” says Ceviche Chief Executive Joe Orsino. “We would like to add a courtyard patio with seating, which we feel is attractive to any restaurant. We will also be making some updates inside [because] it's an older building.”

The owners currently operate four other restaurants. There are Ceviche Tapas Bar and Restaurants in Orlando, Sarasota, St. Petersburg and Tampa.