Another restaurant set to open in $3B mixed-use development

TAMPA — Next Level Brands, a partnership between restaurateur Jeff Gigante, real estate entrepreneur Andrew Wright and attorney/investor Joseph Guggino, plans to open Boulon Brasserie next summer at Water Street Tampa, the $3 billion, 50-acre mixed-use development just east of downtown Tampa.

According to a news release, the 7,097-square-foot restaurant will be located at 1001 Water Street, on the ground floor of Thousand & One, an office tower that opened earlier this year. Boulon Brasserie is a French bistro concept and will include a restaurant, café and full bar, with a menu highlighted by fresh-caught seafood and modern interpretations of classic French pastries. The eatery will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Gigante co-founded of Ciccio Restaurant Group, whose brands include Fresh Kitchen, Better Byrd and Taco Dirty. Now with Next Level Brands, he — along with Wright and Guggino — has also opened Union New American, a restaurant in Tampa’s Westshore business district.

“We all share the same vision at Next Level Brands,” Gigante states in the release. “To elevate the culinary landscape of Tampa Bay by creating a collection of beautiful and authentic restaurants. Our vision of immersive dining is the perfect complement to the experiential nature of Water Street Tampa.”

Boulon Brasserie, the release states, has been designed by Montreal-based architecture firm Atelier Zebulon Perron, which was also tapped to design Union New American.

“This is poised to be one of the most iconic spaces in the country and these hospitality veterans are building something great here,” states Wright, who also serves as the CEO and managing partner of real estate services firm Franklin Street, in the release. “I’m just excited to be along for the ride and take the restaurant scene to the next level.”