Considering that long-established eateries like Red Lobster and TGI Fridays have shuttered many of their stores, it wasnโt a big shock that Bloominโ Brands โ which also is the parent company of Outback, Carrabbaโs and Bonefish โ made the decision to shutter most of its U.S. locations of Aussie Grill.
Among the stores that already are permanently closed is the Lutz/Wesley Chapel location on the north side of S.R. 56, across from the Tampa Premium Outlets, which closed its doors earlier this month. We had no news at our press time as to what might replace Aussie Grill, but weโll keep you posted.
Portilloโs Is Coming…But Where?
Meanwhile, Portilloโs โ the Chicago-based hot dog and Italian beef chain โ originally announced on Dec. 5 that it was opening โlater this yearโ and even gave the address of the new Portilloโs as 26000 S.R. 56 and said that it would be a 6,250-sq.-ft. restaurant. That announcement was later changed to what is shown below, but the spark had been lit, as many midwesterners rejoiced, many locals who had tried but werenโt overjoyed shrugged their shoulders and everyone else tried to figure out how Portilloโs could open a huge sit-down restaurant in just a few weeks time, in a location that already has a huge (actually closer to 8,000 sq. ft.) sit-down restaurant โ as that address is where the Rock & Brews on the south side of S.R. 56, in front of the outlet mall, currently sits and is still open (and is still advertising in our pages).ย
As soon as I saw the original announcement, I headed to the nearest Portilloโs location โ on E. Fowler Ave. in Tampa โ to ask what the management of that location knew about the new store, but I was referred to corporate, which has not yet responded to my very detailed email, even though the revised press release at Portillos.com shown left deleted the planned address and timeframe in the original (Note-26000 S.R. 56 is still listed as the Lutz address when you click on the โLocationsโ button on the site).ย
Of course, I also took the time to sample my first Portilloโs Italian beef sandwich, with added mozzarella cheese and extra Italian gravy/au jus on the side, and Iโll admit it was pretty tasty. Good crinkle cut fries, too.
Our contact at Rock & Brews didnโt get back to us with an answer as to whether or not that location was closing, but weโll keep you posted. โ GN