Channelside restaurant set to talk taco

Guy Revelle likely set a speed record in designing and creating the new Hablo Taco restaurant just 45 days from cocktail napkin drawing to construction and hiring. And thats just about right, he said, because the business plan is to make the gritty taco joint into a fabulous party that lasts two years, and then tear the place down.

Its an unusual plan, but so is the venue: Channelside Bay Plaza. Hablo Taco represents the first new restaurant to open in years in Channelside, and the first under the reign of the new mall operator, Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik.

The concept was really two Gringos walk into a Mexican bar, Revelle said. Thats it. Hence the slogans all over the restaurant, Holy Guacamole, Dont drink the water, (drink beer instead,) and Our food is better than our Spanish.

Revelle and his partners were some of the original restaurant operators in Channelside, and they still run the Splitsville Lanes bowling alley bar/restaurant. But over the years, Channelside faltered, and his Stumps Supper Club and Tinatapas operations there shut down.

Meanwhile, Revelle was building new Splitsville locations around the country, including Miami, Dallas, Orlando (in Downtown Disney), Foxborough, Massachusetts and Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Then the mid-life crisis came, Revelle jokes. He went with business partner Mark Gibson to Mexico and ended up wandering into a small town bar drinking Margaritas and local tequila, which gave them a semi-voluntary nap. The story/myth he likes to tell is, We woke up when the Lightning god called, Jeff Vinik. He told us You two guys need to come back to Tampa and open a taco joint.

They want to remake this whole area for all the right reasons, Revelle said, sitting in the new Hablo Taco site amid the last few touches of construction. Its familiar space for Revelle, since its the exact space where his Tinatapas restaurant operated.

Part of the reason Revelle can move so quickly now with Hablo Taco is that Viniks company is supporting much of the cost to renovate and build out the space, while Revelle and Gibson will be operators once it opens.

The menu will be a combination of two parts: One part ultra authentic Mexican items like Street Corn rolled in sauces, and one part Gringo bar food, with items like Ahi Tuna tacos and cheeseburgers.

Local residents of the Channel District get the first peek Wednesday night, and theres a ribbon cutting with politicians on Thursday and then a full opening to the public Wednesday, Feb. 4.

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Channelside restaurant set to talk taco