New Tampa’s Señor T’s Mexican will not make it to its one-year anniversary.
The restaurant is shutting down immediately, according to new manager Bill Jaber.
Jaber, who has only been with the restaurant for approximately two weeks, called the Neighborhood News Tuesday afternoon to cancel advertising and say that Señor T’s was closing, effective immediately.
Dwayne Bracy, the restaurant’s original operations partner, left in July for another job.
Calls to Señor T’s are now directed to a voicemail that does not identify the restaurant, just the phone number.
Señor T’s opened on “Black Friday 2015” (Nov. 27), in the long-vacant former New Tampa Macaroni Grill, located at 17641 Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. in front of the also-vacant former Sweetbay Supermarket. The Macaroni Grill was unoccupied for more than a year before Señor T’s confirmed it was moving in last September.
The Mexican eatery was going to be the first link in a planned start-up chain of roughly seven Tampa Bay locations.
The New Tampa restaurant received lukewarm, and sometimes blistering reviews online. It was excoriated on Yelp! and by many in New Tampa for failing to offer complimentary chips and salsa, which is customary in most Mexican restaurants. The food was panned as lacking authenticity, and the service received mixed reviews.
The restaurant was in the midst of trying to recover, with changes in the kitchen and possibly an interior renovation. But, the decision was made to cancel any re-boot and shut down immediately.
The restaurant featured indoor and outdoor seating, a full premium liquor bar that featured 75 different brands of tequila, and mid-priced Mexican fare.
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