TAMPA, Fla. — Mom's Place has served comfort food in Tampa for nearly 36 years. Owner Antonio Hernandez said many of its customers have made weekly and even daily visits for just as long.
"You heard that customer, they're regulars. They come every single day. And like Antonio said, we have new people coming in all the time," said manager Anita Diaz.
Hernandez said that on top of having a loyal customer base, Mom's Place continues to see new faces because of Tampa's population growth.
"He's very happy that we're in an area where there's so much sports," Diaz added.
Hernandez left the restaurant industry in Puerto Rico, to take over Mom's Place about six months ago. He said since then, it's been a great journey meeting the regulars and soon-to-become regulars.
The website OpenTable keeps track of how restaurants are performing. Its statistics show Tampa restaurants are seeing on average a 20% customer increase when compared to 2019.
Zudar has kept the Tampa community fed since 1959. Owner Eric Weinstein said the initial COVID closures were tough, but the community made it easy for them to recover.
“We had an enormous amount of community support when things were really tough and I’m grateful for the following that continues to follow us," Weinstein said.
COVID changed the crowds at Zudar's. The normal lunch crowd of downtown workers isn't what it used to be. Instead, the dinner scene has picked up.
“I do feel like we’ve bounced back from COVID in some ways and in some others, not completely,” he said.
Weinstein said he's also noticed plenty of newcomers, choosing Tampa as their new home, and Zudar's as their new go-to restaurant.
