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Everybody's Business

Mise en Place is back in place

The downtown restaurant, now celebrating its 20th year, reopens with a sleek look after major renovations.

By SHARON GINN
Published July 21, 2006

The restaurant reopened July 14 after a whirlwind of activity that resulted in new lighting, carpeting, paneling, wall coverings, paint and bar top, in addition to a few kitchen upgrades. The renovations, designed by Jaime Rogers of Doxa Design, cost nearly $250,000.

It was the first full makeover of the restaurant at 442 W Kennedy Blvd. since it moved there in 1992.

"If it was a surface, it was recovered," owner Maryann Ferenc said.

Ferenc describes the restaurant's new look as "urban and sophisticated."

Her only regret was that the design dictated that the distinctive 12-by-7-foot mural hanging over the bar had to go. She couldn't bear to part with it, so it now hangs over her bed at home.

Ferenc expects that the new sleek look will endure.

"We are not trendy," she said. "We've been here (in Tampa) 20 years; we intend to be here 20 more."

Not everything is quite finished: "Apparently the chairs are on a boat from Italy," she said, so they are using older ones for a bit longer. But Ferenc can't believe what was accomplished in such a short time.

To help mark Mise en Place's 20th anniversary, the restaurant will offer each patron a complimentary glass of champagne through the end of August.

Chef Marty Blitz has added new menu items and plans to make the restaurant more sustainable by adding locally raised and organic products.

FOOD WITH THAT WINE?: Wine shop owner Gianpiero Ruggeri has long heard from customers that they would love for him to offer edible imports at his store.

So, early this month, Gianpiero's Pick of the Vine moved in some more tables, uncorked the wine and brought out the antipasto.

The 6-year-old store at 2506 S MacDill Ave. remains an intimate operation, Ruggeri said. (He usually wields the corkscrew and cheese slicer and brings out the plates.) But now the space can host small gatherings and offer lunch or appetizers.

Food starts at $10 a plate and includes everything from meats to cheeses to olives, eggplants, roasted peppers and artichokes, served with an assortment of breads. Glasses of wine start at about $4.

"I prepare whatever I have in the back," Ruggeri said. "It's very easy to please everybody. All I need to do is order stuff I would eat myself. If I can't sell it, I will eat it."

The store seats up to 30 people, he said, and includes two tables that can fit up to 12 each for larger gatherings or meetings.

TRAVELING 'BEADS!': Nancy Gruendel's South Tampa jewelry store, Beads!, has moved yet again, this time to a space around the corner from her old location on Neptune Street. She has twice the space (1,300 square feet) of her last spot, which she moved into early this year but found too limiting.

The new store, at 1543 S Dale Mabry Highway, "showcases all of what we have so much more beautifully," Gruendel said. The shop, which reopened July 5 and features local artisans, now offers space for jewelry classes.

BABES ON THE GO: Maternity and children's boutique Babes n' Bellies is relocating to a storefront two blocks south. In late August the store will leave its location at Dale Mabry and San Miguel Street and move to 2425 S Dale Mabry Highway, said owner Maria Martinez-Kim."The main reason is my rent is going up," she said, "and I didn't want to have to raise my prices for the customers."

[Last modified July 19, 2006, 12:59:00]