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Exceptional lineage

The latest in a line of tapas restaurants will soon be opening in Orlando.

By ALEXANDRA ZAYAS, Times Staff Writer
Published September 29, 2007

ORLANDO - Bankrupt, all of Lou Pearlman's possessions were auctioned to pay the former boy band mogul's debt, including Church Street Station, a once-legendary downtown nightlife district many say he ran into the ground.

While Orlando buzzed about the auction last April, developer Cameron Kuhn anchored his yacht in the basin in St. Petersburg and walked into a Spanish tapas restaurant on Beach Drive.

He'd been courting the owner of Ceviche Tapas Bar and Restaurant, Gordon Davis, for three years. He liked the authentic cold and hot tapas, the flowing sangria, the flamenco. Now, he had an offer.

"I may gain control of all of Church Street Station," Kuhn told him.

"That'd be wild," Davis responded.

"What space would you want?" Kuhn asked.

Davis remembered the Pearl Steakhouse, with its open dining room and old wood bars and a mantelpiece that once graced John D. Rockefeller's home.

Kuhn successfully bid $34-million for Church Street Station.

And Davis, who started his tapas chain in a cozy 92-seat spot under a South Tampa condo tower, acquired the lease for the 22,000-square-foot Pearl.

The high ceiling is that of a cathedral, made of cypress beams transplanted from an 1860 New Orleans church. The bar shares its soul - it was once the church's communion rail.

The Spanish tiles will match those of the other Ceviche locations, and the cold tapas spread will be bountiful, with hanging hams and an assortment of cheeses and olives.

Just last year, the 55-year-old Tampa restaurateur thought he was retired. He turned Ceviche over to his four senior managers.

His five kids had all flown the nest, so Davis bought a Colorado ranch overlooking the mountains sliced by the Arkansas River. He would raise cattle, he announced in early 2006.

But Davis never got to buy a single cow. Jim Snyder, one of the managers who bought into Ceviche, urged him to stay. "This concept has legs," he told Davis.

Snyder and the others were watching the second Ceviche take off in St. Petersburg, twice as big. Snyder urged Davis to hold on to part of his ownership, and to deal into an expansion.

Davis put his cattle ranching plans on hold for four years.

These days, he lives in a Church Street apartment. The area is an active construction zone teeming with anticipation, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer stopping in to welcome new tenants to the neighborhood.

Davis, sleeves rolled up, has a hand in every detail in his new restaurant. He consults construction workers. He moves tables and fields job applications. He glows.

"We opened Tampa 10 years ago," Davis said. "And we didn't know what a tapas bar would do."

Davis' father, a major distributor of alcoholic beverages, frequently visited Spain, so Davis grew up on tapas. In high school, he worked in the kitchen at Bern's Steak House in South Tampa. He opened his first restaurant, Le Bordeaux Country French Restaurant, in 1987, a few blocks down South Howard Avenue.

Ten years later, he opened Ceviche, and the restaurant hasn't stopped yielding double-digit increases in sales each year.

"We really believe the dining public is much more savvy than people give them credit for," Snyder said. "There's something for everyone without compromising our original goals."

Davis' cell phone rings constantly. It's all happening so fast. With ideas as extensive as his tapas menu, one thing is clear:

The cows will have to wait.

What are Tapas?
Tapas are a spectrum of small appetizers in Spanish cuisine that can be combined to make full meals. In a traditional tapas restaurant, the hot and cold dishes are delivered quickly for casual dining.

Gordon Davis' restaurant menu

Already open:
- Ceviche Tampa, 2109 Bayshore Blvd.
- Ceviche St. Petersburg, 10 Beach Drive
- Pincho y Pincho, next door to Ceviche in St. Petersburg

Coming soon:
Opening Oct. 22: Ceviche Orlando, 125 W Church St.
Opening in January: Ceviche Sarasota
On the horizon: Smoke on Platt, a South Tampa smokehouse

Alexandra Zayas can be reached at azayas@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3354.

[Last modified September 28, 2007, 23:07:27]