Famed Tampa steakhouse Charley's to move next year

The iconic Charley’s Steak House in Tampa is closing its longtime home on Cypress Street and is relocating across from International Plaza.

As of Thursday afternoon, Charley’s had not posted the closing on its social media channels nor on its website, but there was signage wrapped on fencing around the property on the corner of North Westshore Boulevard and Spruce Street announcing its move.

The signs say the Charley’s will open on the spot in 2025.

A person answering the phone at the restaurant’s current home Thursday afternoon says the move likely won’t happen for at least 18 months and that operations will continue uninterrupted until then. “It might be a little longer (than) that,” the person says. “But we’re moving right around the corner.”

Charley’s also has restaurants in Orlando and Celebration.

The move is being made as the state reconstructs the Westshore Interchange. According to the Florida Department of Transportation, as part of that project Interstate 275 will be widened to include express lanes. That widening has already led to the closing — and led to the eventual demolition — of the DoubleTree by Hilton Tampa Airport-Westshore.

Charley’s longtime home is next to the hotel property.

While not as well-known to the outside world as Bern’s Steak House in the city, Charley’s is a staple in Tampa with a who’s who of locals crowding its popular bar on weekend nights and filling its dining area.

The draw is the old world-atmosphere, wine list and the steaks on the menu.

The chain has been around since 1984 when Red Lobster co-founder and the owner of the Talk of the Town restaurants Charley Woodsby and his son Ron opened the first of its locations in Orlando. The Tampa restaurant opened in 1998.