The former San Francisco 49ers owner says he'll try TuscaBella in another locale.
By STEVE HUETTEL
Published June 18, 2003
TAMPA - Eddie DeBartolo Jr.'s first business venture since relocating to the Tampa Bay area four years ago is on the block.
The former San Francisco 49ers owner and son of mall mega-developer Edward J. DeBartolo Sr. is trying to sell TuscaBella Grill & Patio Bar, an Italian eatery in northwest Hillsborough County, for $1.8-million.
The restaurant has had a tough go since opening beside the Veterans 24 theaters as a low-price, high-style pizza and pasta place called Tomatina in November 2000.
DeBartolo had helped launch the original Tomatina in the San Francisco Bay Area with Napa Valley chef Michael Chiaretto and had franchise rights to spread the concept along the East Coast. He and partner Ed Muransky predicted they'd eventually have 10 in the Tampa Bay area.
But they had a falling out with Tomatina's California owners, said Ben Heldfond, DeBartolo Property Group's vice president of diversified holdings. They objected to DeBartolo's plans to expand the menu to other entrees and sell liquor along with beer and wine, he said.
"People here have an Olive Garden mentality - to have everything under the sun," Heldfond said of the Tampa Bay area. "People walked in and said, "This can't just be a pizza and pasta place. We want chicken and steak.' "
DeBartolo's group gave up the franchise, remodeled the restaurant with an outdoor patio bar, added fish, chicken and beef to the menu and renamed it TuscaBella last fall.
Like Tomatina, the new restaurant got good critical reviews, Heldfond said. But in part because of the location, he said, TuscaBella "is not doing fantastic" financially.
DeBartolo Property Group isn't giving up on the concept and is searching for a site on which to build another TuscaBella, Heldfond said.
The company's other local culinary offering at Veterans 24 on Anderson Road, Ed & Eddie's Ice Cream, has been a stronger performer. A second ice cream shop will open this summer across from Plant High School in south Tampa, Heldfond said. The company plans to open one more this year, he said, then roll our four new shops a year.
DeBartolo moved to Tampa in 1999 to start fresh after a scandal stemming from federal charges that he bribed Louisiana officials in return for a gaming license. He pleaded guilty to failing to report a felony, was fined and received two years' probation.
