After more than three decades on Kennedy Boulevard, one of Tampa’s most enduring fine-dining names has packed up and moved into Ybor City. Mise en Place, described as a legendary Bay Area restaurant, has relocated to a new storefront on East 8th Avenue, according to FOX 13 Tampa Bay, which reported on the move in a segment presented by reporter Russell Rhodes.
The new location sits on the ground floor of the renovated Casa Gomez office building at 1229 E. 8th Avenue, directly across from José Martà Park, according to 83 Degrees Media. The restaurant’s prior home sat inside a 1925 plaza building at 442 W. Kennedy Boulevard across from the University of Tampa, a Grand Central Place address it occupied for over 30 years before hosting a Halloween farewell party there in October 2025, per the same outlet’s reporting.
Mise en Place quietly reopened for dinner service in late 2025 ahead of a formal ribbon-cutting on January 9, an event attended by Tampa Mayor Jane Castor and developer Darryl Shaw, according to Visit Tampa Bay. The restaurant’s roots go back to 1986, when co-founders Maryann Ferenc and Chef Marty Blitz launched it as a small catering operation serving guest performing artists at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, per Great Chefs. Blitz trained under European Master Chef Milos Cihelka in Detroit before relocating to Florida, the outlet notes.
From Catering Startup to Casa Gomez
The business first operated on Platt Street starting in 1986 before moving to Kennedy Boulevard in 1992, according to 83 Degrees Media’s account of the restaurant’s timeline. Ferenc, who holds a theater degree from Wayne State University and grew up in Detroit’s restaurant industry, worked in food service management at Ruth Eckerd Hall before co-founding the business with Blitz, according to Tampa Magazine. She has since become a civic fixture in Tampa, serving on boards including Visit Tampa Bay, Feeding Tampa Bay, and the Tampa Downtown Partnership, the magazine reports…