Tampa wine bar and restaurant Cru Cellars is expanding to the Westshore Marina District, adding to the growing list of local businesses in the mixed-use waterfront community.
Slated to open in the summer of 2020 in the Marina Landings town square, this will be Cru Cellars’ third location, joining the original in the Palma Ceia neighborhood of South Tampa and at Armature Works in Tampa Heights, which opened in February 2018.
Jennifer Bingham, who owns Cru Cellars with her husband Torrey Bingham, says the Palma Ceia and Armature Works locations have established themselves as neighborhood hangouts that some customers fondly compare to the bar on the sitcom “Cheers.” She says she wants to create that same vibe at the Westshore Marina District location.
“I really like what they are doing down there,” Bingham says. “The aesthetics of the development are beautiful. The proximity to the water is really unique for South Tampa. I think the Westshore area and south of Gandy can really become a neighborhood spot.”
Bingham says she also thinks the grouping of restaurants and shops in Marina Landings will establish the town center as the same type of destination that Armature Works has become in Tampa Heights.
Cru Cellars will feature wines-by-the-glass, scratch cooking, cheese and charcuterie boards, and a wine store with a massive selection in a 2,400-square-foot space. Bingham says the location will be open for lunch and may add breakfast and coffee service to “activate the space” for more of the day.
“The addition of Cru Cellars underscores our strategy of bringing local retailers to Westshore Marina District to provide current and future residents a unique upscale retail experience,” says Britney Mroczkowski, the VP of Retail Development with Westshore Marina District master developer BTI Partners, in a news release. “We expect Cru Cellars to quickly become a neighborhood hot spot and complement the growing South Tampa residential area.”
Duckweed Urban Market and Crave Spa of Tampa, and St. Petersburg’s Salon Color Bar are other local businesses that have announced plans to expand to the Westshore Marina District.
For Cru Cellars, the new location will build on a period of growth. The Binghams moved to Tampa about 10 years ago from Chicago, where Jennifer Bingham had extensive experience in the wine industry.
“We wanted warmer weather,” she says. “We loved the area and the vibrancy of it 10 years ago and it’s only gotten better since.”
They opened the Palma Ceia location in the summer of 2010 and quickly built a loyal customer base.
For more information about the development and business in this story, go to these links: Westshore Marina District, Cru Cellars
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