By Madalyn Blair – Reporter, Tampa Bay Business Journal
March 6, 2026

The new location of a renowned Tampa steakhouse will soon break ground on a busy corner in the city’s Westshore business district.

Charley’s Steak House is moving to the corner of West Spruce Street, across from the International Plaza at 1965 N. Westshore Blvd., to make way for the Westshore intermodal center. The move has been anticipated for years, since the Florida Department of Transportation closed on the land that was the original home to Charley’s at 4444 W. Cypress St. in 2016.

Horizontal construction is underway, Clark Woodsby, CEO of Charley’s parent company Talk of the Town Restaurant Group, told the Tampa Bay Business Journal. The concrete slab is being poured this week, and vertical construction is expected to begin in the next two weeks. Charley’s plans to wrap up construction in March 2027 and open the new location in April 2027.

Orlando-based Talk of the Town Restaurant Group operates Charley’s alongside FishBones, Vito’s Chop House and Texas Cattle Co.

Although construction is moving forward, the new location will open nearly two years later than expected. Originally, Charley’s was set to open in 2025, but a billboard with a 13-year lease was positioned in the center of the site, Woodsby said. After a year of negotiations, an agreement to remove the billboard was reached, but its lease was what stalled construction.

The restaurant’s new location is less than a mile away from its original location, a change Woodsby says will make for a “seamless” transition for guests and employees. There are no plans to close the current Charley’s restaurant amid the relocation.

“The goal is to lock one door and then, on the same day, unlock the new door,” he said. “It’s the best situation we could hope for.”

A main difference to the new location will be its size. The restaurant is supposed to be about 30% bigger, an increase in size from about 11,000 square feet to just under 15,000 square feet, Woodsby said. This change will go toward accommodating more group dining options with the addition of new dining rooms.

Including the land, the investment in the new restaurant’s location will be in the eight-figure range, but Woodsby declined to disclose a specific amount.

Talk of the Town Restaurant Group bought the land in late 2021 for $7.875 million from Wagner Property Group, according to Hillsborough County property records.

The restaurant company will invest heavily in the kitchen, which will be about 50% larger and have updated technology, such as new ovens and state-of-the-art wine storage, COO of Talk of the Town Restaurant Group Seth Miller told the Business Journal. A majority of the new equipment was installed at the current Charley’s about three years ago to integrate employees before the relocation, he said.

“The goal is to recreate what we have proven: an anticipated experience that the guest takes away at the end. Recreating that particular site, when you look up and down the interstate, it’s kind of like an oasis in a concrete jungle,” Woodsby said. “There are 80-year-old pine trees towering over it. Unfortunately, this site does not have that, but we’re going to do our best to recreate that oasis-type feeling as part of the experience.”

Although there will be some upgrades, Talk of the Town executives said they are committed to making the new location generate the same feel as the original restaurant. Walking into the restaurant, guests will still be met with lowered ceilings and dimmed lighting, and the bar will lie at the heart of the restaurant, facing a wood fire pit.

“We really spent a lot of time in design and making sure that you walk into Charley’s at the new location, you’re going to feel like you’re in the old location. It’s almost like a preservation-type project,” Miller said.

The main change will be the removal of the neon Charley’s Steak House sign that rose along Interstate 275. The billboard at the corner of Cypress Street and Westshore Boulevard will still stand, but the arrow will be moved to go straight instead of turning onto Cypress Street.

Lakeland-based Rodda Construction is the general contractor for the project. The building will be constructed as post-and-beam — a structural method that creates a sturdy, open framework, built to last 100 years. It will also be able to withstand 170 mph winds and be the first restaurant in the company to have generators, Woodsby said.

To accommodate the larger space, there will be a 30% increase in employees at the new location, Miller said. Two managers were already hired to ensure a full year’s worth of preparation; Charley’s will begin hiring for team member positions about 90 days before its opening.

Charley’s has been at the West Cypress Street location for nearly 30 years, and it has continued to draw in more guests year after year. Same-store sales have been increasing ever since Covid, Miller said. The store increased 5% in sales last year, and it’s trending to increase another 5% this year.