Health-focused chain to open first of three Tampa restaurants in February

Water Street Tampa developers have long promised that there was going to be something at the site for nearly everyone. And the newest tenant coming to the property certainly meets that description.

Strategic Property Partners has announced that the fast-casual health food chain Crisp & Green will open a location in the development. According to Crisp & Green’s website, the Water Street restaurant, one of three coming to Tampa, will open in February.

SPP, in a statement, says the chain will be on the ground floor of the East Cumberland Avenue parking garage across from the Cora residential development.

The Minnesota-based chain was founded in 2016 and believes “every community should have access to convenient, healthy choices and resources that make a positive impact on their lives.”

“That’s where we come in,” the chain’s founder and CEO, Steele Smiley, writes on the website.

Crisp & Green specializes in salads made from scratch, grain bowls, acai bowls, aguas frescas and smoothies, according to the statement.

In addition to the three locations coming to Tampa, the company’s website shows Crisp & Green has plans to open two eateries in Sarasota and one in Estero. It currently operates four restaurants in the state, including one in Venice and one in Naples.  

SPP did not respond to an email asking how big the Water Street Crisp & Green would be.

Water Street is the $3 billion, 56-acre, mixed-use development just south of downtown Tampa. When completed, the development, being built on land once mostly made up of parking lots, is expected to bring 9 million square feet of new construction that will include commercial, residential, hospitality, entertainment and retail space.

SPP is a joint venture between investor and Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik and Bill Gates’ Cascade Investment LLC.