The Lobster Pot, which closed in September, is set to reopen at its old location (17814 Gulf Blvd., Redington Shores) at the end of January. The concept will stay the same and the new owners currently operate South Beach Sports Bar & Grill in Clearwater Beach.
 
The defunct Shell's Seafood (17855 Gulf Blvd., Redington Shores) is set to reopen as a, sigh, Cici's Pizza. Really, that location couldn't draw anything more exciting?
 
And Balla's Steakhouse looks to be opening soon at former spot of 1s N 10 Sports bar at 776 Missouri Avenue N, Largo.

All these newcomers are bucking the national trend. In a report released today by Nation's Restaurant News, the number of total restaurant locations nationally in 2008 contracted from the previous year by 0.1 percent, driven by closures of independent restaurants and units within smaller chains. According to new data from The NPD Group, for the first time since 2000, the number of U.S. restaurants in the September-ended fiscal year fell from the year earlier, led by drops in the family-dining and fine-dining segments. Typically, the number of U.S. restaurants grows each year, with increases of 1.8 percent in 2007 and 0.4 percent in 2006, for example. Casual-dining and quick-service locations showed small but positive growth in 2008, NPD data shows.