Founded in St. Petersburg , Hawaiian poke chain Pacific Counter has expanded to a total of five locations in the Tampa Bay area, and this year, it has two more locations on the way. One is set to open in Apollo Beach , Pacific Counter co-owner Tanner Loebel told What Now on Thursday—but first, it’s debuting a new location in its hometown of St. Pete.
“We’re under construction in Apollo Beach, slated to open in March,” said Loebel. “This one [in St. Pete] wasn’t planned, but the previous place went out of business, so we had a great opportunity. It’s going to have the same offerings as our other locations, and the nice thing about it is that, since it was already a poke restaurant, the turnaround time is quick.”
Previously home to Island Fin Poké Company , the new location is at 210 37 th Ave N , part of Northeast Park Shopping Center , which is home to businesses like Crunch Fitness and Publix along with another restaurant, Cali St. Pete .
“St. Pete is where our first location is. We’re going on seven years in there,” Loebel added. “And we just renewed that lease for another five years. So, our presence is growing in St. Pete and we’re just really excited about it.”