Emilio's Bistro (437 Central Ave., St. Petersburg) and Gallagher's Steakhouse (615 Channelside Dr., Tampa) have closed.

The story with Gallagher's is that it will re-open as a different concept -- Italian -- under the same franchisee. The story with Emilio's location is more complicated.

Here, despite the fact that no one has asked for my opinion, is what I would do if I was putting in the next restaurant that will go in that space: Gut it, and start over. That sliver of a restaurant has been more things in the past six years than any location I can think of. And I can't help but think it is at least in part due to the strange layout of the place. You walk in, and all you see is kitchen. You have to walk down a thin aisle to get to the seating area. Once back there, you are trapped back there with all the noises, smells and heat from the kitchen. Emilio's had upgraded the room from previous incarnations, with fans and lighter walls, which helped move some of that air. But in the best-case scenario, that room is awkward.

So I would suggest tearing out the kitchen/bar area, move it to the back of the room -- leave it open as a showcase if you want, but get it out of the traffic area -- vent it all out the back of the building and somehow connect it to the prep kitchen that is off to the side. Then turn the front of the house into, well, a front of the house, and make a go of it. Also, maybe call an exorcist.

Is any of that financially viable? I have no idea. But i know this: opening another place in that location without making any changes isn't viable, either.