TAMPA, FL – (May 1) The latest culinary dining sensation by renowned French-trained Chef Chris Ponte will open at Midtown Tampa, Bromley Companies announced today.
“As one of the most renowned restaurateurs in the Tampa Bay region, Chris Ponte has delivered both imaginative food as well as wonderful hospitality to guests for more than 20 years,” said Nicholas Haines, CEO, Bromley Companies. “We couldn’t be more excited to partner with him on the incredible new restaurant he has planned for Midtown.”
After graduating from the famed Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and working in some of the world’s most prestigious culinary settings, Chef Ponte opened two of the Tampa Bay area’s favorite restaurants, Café Ponte in Clearwater and On Swann in Tampa. Those who already love the sophisticated cuisine and exceptional atmosphere of Ponte’s other locations will find the Midtown Tampa restaurant just as enticing.
Plans for the 5,000 square-foot restaurant will seat 200 guests, a full bar and lounge, 400 world-class wines, and an open kitchen surrounded by glass. Lunch and dinner will be served daily, with brunch on the weekends.
“Midtown is a first-class, one-of-a-kind destination,” said Ponte, who is both chef and owner of The Ponte Group. “The location just off I-275 makes Midtown the perfect choice for our new concept in the Tampa market. In addition to opening an exciting restaurant as a destination for Tampa foodies, it will be easy for our long-time Café Ponte patrons from Pinellas County to cross the Courtney Campbell bridge and join us for lunch or dinner, and enjoy all that Midtown has to offer while they’re here.”
The Midtown restaurant concept is in the early development stage. Ponte’s vision for the family-owned Ponte Group’s latest venture is for a trendy, white tablecloth restaurant serving cuisine similar to that found at Café Ponte, modern and elegant American cuisine, featuring steaks and seafood, with French and Italian influences.
Michelle Ponte, Chef Ponte’s wife and co-owner of the Ponte Group, says guests will experience a sophisticated, sleek, cutting-edge design. “Set near the heart of Midtown’s central square just off the main entrance at Cypress Street, we’ll have a lively, dynamic location,” she said. “Our restaurant at Midtown Tampa will be the place to dine, and the place to be seen.”
Guests will glimpse chefs in the toques blanches (“white hats”) preparing food behind an open, yet nearly soundproof, glass-enclosed kitchen. Locally-sourced, seasonal selections will be offered.
Colliers International Tampa Bay’s Jim Kovacs, Executive Managing Director of Retail Services, and Tyler Peterson, CCIM, Director of Retail Services, represented The Ponte Group in finding and negotiating the new space at the Midtown Tampa location.
Ponte’s new restaurant, along with recently announced True Food Kitchen, are examples of Midtown’s plans to curate best-in-class restaurants at both the local and national level making it a premier destination for those from Tampa, the surrounding Tampa Bay area, and beyond.
About Chris Ponte, chef/owner, The Ponte Group
Chris Ponte, a James Beard nominated chef, graduated from the world renowned Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, France, at the top of his class. He then went on to apprentice at Le Taillevent, a three-Michelin star restaurant also in Paris, considered by food critics as one of the city’s finest restaurants. Following his two years at Le Taillevent, he was off to New York City to apprentice with Daniel Boulud at his acclaimed restaurant, Daniel.
Since its inception in 2002, Café Ponte garnered numerous awards and accolades including “Best restaurant on the Gulf Coast” by Zagat 2006-2013 and 11 golden spoon awards, awarded to the top 20 restaurants in the state by the prestigious Florida Trend Magazine. Café Ponte was inducted into the Nation’s Restaurant News Hall of Fame and named to the Fine Dining Hall of Fame. Most recently, Café Ponte was named by Yelp as one of “Yelp’s Top 100 Places to Treat Yourself for 2019.”
Chris Ponte’s restaurants are all part of his family-owned business, The Ponte Group, which he runs with his wife, Michelle, and stepson, JT Mahoney, who serves as the group’s controller. The three partners combine their talents to offer excellence in food, atmosphere, service, and operations to patrons at four restaurants: Café Ponte, a fine dining destination; On Swann in Hyde Park Village; Olivia, a soon-to-open south Tampa Italian restaurant; and the Midtown Tampa restaurant.
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Press Release: Renowned French-trained Chef Chris Ponte to open restaurant at Midtown Tampa
Photos: Chef Chris Ponte, Ponte Group (credit: Stephen Barna, Sky Compass Media); Midtown Tampa Renderings (2)
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Owner/Master Developer — The Bromley Companies
About Midtown Tampa
On 22 acres, Midtown Tampa is the first mixed-use project of its kind in Tampa and the catalyst for an entirely new district connecting Westshore and downtown. Midtown Tampa will deliver 1.8 million square feet of retail, residential, Class A office, entertainment and hospitality to the surrounding neighborhood and entire Tampa Bay region. Already, Midtown Tampa has announced Whole Foods Market, Crescent Community’s Novel multifamily residential, True Food Kitchen, Aloft and Element Hotel, and Midtown One office tower. For more information about Midtown Tampa, visit www.midtowntampa.comAbout The Bromley Companies
Founded in 1972, The Bromley Companies, based in New York with offices in Tampa, is a national real estate development and investment company that has built a portfolio of retail, office, industrial and student housing assets. Bromley began a substantial history of investing in the Tampa region more than 30 years ago with the acquisition of Bromley Pallet, which grew into one of the nation’s largest pallet recycling companies. Since then, Bromley established a Tampa office and has owned and managed local real estate including the 60,000 square-foot Bromley Office Building. The leadership team has also been involved with the Westshore Alliance and Tampa Hillsborough County Economic Development Council.
Continuing Bromley’s commitment to the region, the $500M Midtown Tampa, 1.8 million-square-foot project, reflects the company’s vision to deliver Tampa’s first urban high-density mixed-use development. To learn more about The Bromley Companies, visit www.bromco.com