BRANDON — Standing behind the bar mixing drinks with names like Mustang Mary, Bootlegger and Antifreeze Cooler, bartenders Stephanie Lozada and Laura Robaina occasionally stop what they're doing to step on a service station hose that rings the ahooga horn on the Model A Ford hanging overhead.
Sometimes they do it after receiving great tips, other times just because they can.
That's just a little of what patrons can expect to experience at the Ford's Garage restaurant that opened June 23 in the former Buca Di Beppo location at 11105 Causeway Blvd. Set in a 1920s service station with a poke at prohibition, the restaurant features a seven-page craft beer menu and prime burgers.
Marc Brown, managing partner and owner of the 8,2000 square-foot location, said the varied demographics of greater Brandon play right into the business model of the Fort Myers-based company. This is the fourth Ford's Garage.
"This is the first one out of our market and the community has given so much feedback," Brown said. "We wanted a high-profile location."
The restaurant features a 2,000-square-foot patio, seats nearly 300 and can use its expansive parking lot for special events. The concept began in 2012 as a play on Henry Ford's winter roots (he kept a Fort Myers estate) and recently became an official licensee of Ford Motor Co.
Visit facebook.com/fords-garagebrandon for more information.
Eric Vician, Times correspondent
Cask Social brings southern style to SoHo
Timothy Miller has come a long way in the restaurant industry over the past 10 years.
From bussing tables at the original Outback, Miller now co-owns a new restaurant on South Howard Avenue called Cask Social Kitchen with partners Adam Harlan and Buccaneers wide receiver Vincent Jackson.
"I came to Vincent with the opportunity and he almost immediately was on board," Miller said. "He loved the concept, loved the food. Adam was a close family friend and had prior experience opening restaurants in the Westchase area, so we all brought something to the table."
The Southern style cuisine includes such popular menu items as crab n' mac cakes and the Belgian Bird — the restaurant's take on chicken and waffles, which adds sweet potato.
The restaurant also focuses on healthier entrees with an emphasis on farm to table.
"The idea of Southern food brings comfort to people, but it gets a bad rap for being all fried and unhealthy," Miller said.
A large open bar inside makes for a real social time, but guests can also sit outside, under the 20 foot vaulted ceiling patio.
Specials include happy hour Monday through Friday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and late night happy hour on Thursdays from 9 p.m. to 12 a.m. Sunday brunch takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. More specials are in the works.
Visit casksocial.com or call (813) 251-0051 for more information.
Arielle Waldman, Times staff writer
Brandon attorneys expand to New Tampa
Steady growth and adding an experienced attorney has allowed Brandon Legal Group to expand to the New Tampa/Wesley Chapel area.
Earlier this year, attorney Kevin D. Astl joined Brandon Legal Group, and helped expand the firm's list of legal services to include wrongful death, traumatic brain injury and music and entertainment law.
Astl, a longtime Wesley Chapel resident, has witnessed the area's growth over the years.
"Wesley Chapel is one of the few areas in the Tampa Bay area that the home values are holding steady or increasing," Astl said. "There are new developments and there is quite an influx of people moving here."
Astl pointed out that the new office provides a great location for serving clients in Pasco, Hernando, Citrus, and other northern counties.
The new office, at 20701 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., Suite H, will have the same daily office hours as the Brandon office: 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
Astl will be located predominantly at the Wesley Chapel office, with all of the firm's attorneys offering office hours and meetings in that location by appointment.
Brandon Legal Group is a full- service law firm, providing a wide range of legal services.
For more information, visit brandonlegalgroup.com.
Danielle Hauser, Times correspondent
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