Tampa restaurant group announces latest opening and concepts to come

Ciccio Restaurant Group, a staple of the Tampa Bay area for almost 30 years, recently announced a bevy of new restaurants to expect, one of which has a firm opening this week. 

Jay Luigi, a “lighter and healthier Italian cuisine that you can indulge several times a week," according to a statement, will open Dec. 19 in the SoHo neighborhood of Tampa in a space that previously held CRG’s Luv Child. 

The menu focuses on Roman pizza, pasta and aperitif cocktails. The restaurant had several details imported from Italy, including chandeliers, sconces, Venetian plaster, and most of the upholstery, the release states. The first Jay Luigi opened in St. Pete in 2022. 

Also to come at a date to be determined are expansions of two other CRG restaurants, Taco Dirty and Green Lemon. Additionally, a CRG bakery and a combined version of Sweet Soul & Soulful are on the horizon for the restaurant group, the company says.

James Lanza founded Ciccio Restaurant Group in New York City in 1990 and relocated to Tampa in 1996. CRG operates 30 different restaurants under the Cali, Daily Eats, Fresh Kitchen, Green Lemon, Jay Luigi, Soulful, Sweet Soul, Taco Dirty, and Water + Flour brand names.