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TAMPA - A Chicago-based restaurant group snatched up the last available outdoor restaurant parcel at International Plaza's Bay Street, while two nearby outdoor boutiques, Rand McNally and Stogies & Bogics, have closed.
Restaurant Development Group Inc. will spend approximately $13 million to develop the 5,000-square-foot Bar Louie between the mall's top two traffic and sales generators, a The Cheesecake Factory Inc. location and the Blue Martini.
Bar Louie is scheduled to open in December.
Restaurant Development operates eight restaurant types including 17 Bar Louie locations in Chicago, Pittsburgh, Phoenix, Columbus, Ohio and Newport, Ky. Annual sales per unit average $2 million, said Liza Lathouris, director of marketing and public relations for Restaurant Development.
As International Plaza approaches its second anniversary Sept. 14, a symbiotic relationship between Bay Street restaurants and retailers has developed, and it helps drive traffic.
"The location really provided just...