South Tampa's Hyde Park Village attracts new shops, restaurants

Four retail vacancies at Hyde Park Village in South Tampa will soon be filled with new restaurants and shops designed to attract workers on lunch breaks and visitors leisurely strolling through on weekends.

“Hyde Park Village offers a unique sense of place for a variety of exclusive shopping, dining and entertainment for our patrons and retailers alike in a charming, family-friendly atmosphere,” says Gabby Soriano, who works on the development team for Hyde Park Village.

One of the restaurants opening soon will be Goody Goody on the corner of west Swann Avenue and South Dakota Avenue. The historic restaurant known for hamburgers topped with an infamous secret sauce, first opened in downtown Tampa in 1930 and then closed in 2006. Owner Richard Gonzmart plans to revive much of the popular old menu for the new Goody Goody to open later this year.

The other restaurant is Bartaco, which opened its first location in the Tampa Bay area on Snow Drive, across from the Village Green. With locations in New York, Connecticut and Georgia, the restaurant marries upscale Mexican street food with an open-air environment in an effort to recreate a rustic beach resort-like setting.

As for shopping, cooks will rejoice at the news that Sur La Table will be going into the former Restoration Hardware Store, next to Anthropologie. Sur La Table began in 1972 in Seattle, and today has more than 100 stores featuring culinary tools and products. This is the retailer’s first store in the Tampa Bay area and will open this fall.

Lastly, for those needing invitations or announcements, Paper Source will open its first location in Tampa this summer. The papery and gift retailer offers greeting cards, gift wrap, party supplies and personalized stationery and stamps.

Soriano attributes the success of the revitalization to the Hyde Park community and surrounding neighborhood.

“Hyde Park Village is located in the heart of the community and supports local events, arts and other community happenings, which is a great drawl to retailers.”