Drew Wilson
Downtown Tampa’s upcoming Sparkman Wharf development unveiled another restaurant Monday that’s sure to hit all the right notes with the crowd who capped off their weekend by celebrating National Oyster Day.
Boat Run Oyster Company, billed as a “tide-to-table concept,” has joined Foundation Coffee, Whatever Pops and Gallito on the slate of restaurants opening in the in-development dining garden along the Garrison Channel in downtown Tampa.
“Sparkman Wharf offered a unique opportunity to take part in the exciting redevelopment of Tampa’s downtown urban landscape. We are also thrilled to collaborate with SPP and work alongside such creative and talented restauranteurs,” said Ryan Conigliaro, co-founder of Boat Run Oyster Company.
The new restaurant, developed by local firm SaltBlock Hospitality, will feature a menu stocked with sustainably raised, diverse and delicious oysters from around the world, as well as locally-grown oysters from Cedar Key. For those who don’t feel like eating off the half shell, Boat Run Oyster Company plans to plate plenty of other Florida favorites, from shrimp rolls to stone crab.
The Sparkman Wharf development is currently being built by Tampa-based contractor EWI. The dining garden, biergarten, and recreational lawn are slated to open in October 2018.
Upon completion, Sparkman Wharf will feature 180,000 square feet of loft-style office space, with another 65,000 square feet of street-level retail and a one-acre park-like location. The development is a piece of the much-hyped Water Street Tampa project backed by Strategic Property Partners, a partnership between Lightning owner Jeff Vinik and Bill Gates’ Cascade Investment, is behind the Sparkman Wharf development.
SPP recently revealed its plans for Water Street Tampa’s public spaces as well as some of the buildings that will anchor the 50-acre development, including a pair of top-tier Marriott hotels under the “EDITION” and “JW Marriott” labels. Construction is already underway on the latter, which is expected to open in 2020.
All told, the $3 billion development will feature nearly 9 million square feet of indoor space and will bring downtown Tampa its first new condominiums in nearly a decade as well as its first office towers in a quarter century.
