TANGELO’S GRILLE OPENS IN GULFPORT!
After 23 successful years in Downtown St. Petersburg, Tangelo’s has moved to 3121 Beach Boulevard in Downtown Gulfport. They opened quietly last week with an “official” opening tonight, September 3.
We dropped in Thursday evening and had a delightful time at a sidewalk table people watching and greeting friends who were passing by. Most stopped, stayed a while for a beer or a glass of wine and then moved on. Speaking of beer, you’ll be delighted at the draft beer selection of craft beers: Magic Hat, (Vermont); Shipyard , (Boston); Red Brick Brown Ale, (Atlanta) and Highland I.P.A., (Ashville, N.C.). Our meals were great, but I will not do a review here or our reviewer, Foodie Adventurer will be upset with me. I will say, however that I plan to be a regular customer.
First impressions are the most important since you only get one. The place is a spotless, cheery yellow with tastefully done Cuban décor. More importantly, the people running the place were cheerful, helpful and honestly glad to meet us. I must admit that I had met the owners before at last month’s Chamber of Commerce Mixer.
Lisa and Mike Brennan are a husband and wife team that has managed to work together for 23 years with no apparent ill effect. Lisa works out front meeting, greeting and serving with a pleasing charm. Mike is the quiet, talented chef behind the counter in the spotless, open kitchen. The staff are young, but are primarily from the St. Petersburg operation, so it appears that Tangelos has been on Beach Boulevard forever.
I was pleasantly surprised to be handed a luncheon menu where only one item, (Bahamas Fish Salad), was priced above $8.00. Dinner entrees were generally in the $11 to $15 range. There was a nice beer and wine list at reasonable prices. We’ll do a full review in a few weeks.
One can safely say that Providence had a hand in bringing Tangelos to Gulfport. It seems that the Brennans had decided to look around for a new location when the St. Petersburg landlord announced the latest of a series of rent increases that had resulted in the doubling of their rent in less than two years. While walking their dog around Gulfport, in an effort to get a feel for the place, they came upon the recently closed, (about 2 weeks), ECCO Restaurant. Mike was immediately interested in the location. Lisa saw that although the doors were locked, the place was fully furnished and figured it was probably not available. So, they walked past, up Beach Boulevard.
On the return down the Boulevard toward their car on Shore Drive, who should be coming out of the restaurant, almost bumping into them but the building owner. This must have been a true case of love at first sight because a couple of meetings later a deal was consummated and Tangelos had a new home in Gulfport.
Restaurateurs are notoriously superstitious about locations and are quick to label certain locations as “jinxed.” In the case of 3121 Beach Boulevard, where a divine hand seemed to guide the Brennans to the location, the food gods are definitely with this new and promising venture.
Based on first impressions, the food gods are also with us.
Great food, great people, GREAT place!! How great is it for Gulfport to have a restaurant like Tangelo’s move here?
Sorry I missed it, I must have walked right past the location.
I was downtown for a few hours on Saturday afternoon and never noticed the difference. At 2:30 we stopped at Bellini’s for a beer and Roast Beef Sub with Au jus sauce for $6 bucks. It was 90º out and Bellini’s has the best A/C in town, not to mention the calming waterfall and pleasant music. The place was packed!!
Another winner indeed! The Cuban sandwich on the lunch menu is good. Be careful of the hot sauce!
My only regret is I did not get to try their food before I left town.