Being from Oklahoma, I am all about comfort food. Give me some fried okra and grits, and I will be set for life. When I first ate at Datz with a few of my friends, I expected to walk into a trendy restaurant with sleek black menus and gleaming candles. What I discovered instead was a whimsical gastropub that turns southern food gourmet.
The menu boasts a wide variety of classic southern meals like Waffles n’ Tweet (chicken and waffles), Barry C’s Stuffed Meatloaf and Carolina On My Mind (pulled pork sandwiches). Appetizers like the Mac n’ Cheese Bites and Pretzel Bites are also popular picks.
Behind the restaurant seating is even a full beer tap that rotates between at least 30 different American craft brews at a time.
While Datz has brought much success to owners Roger and Suzanne Perry as well as provided a local hotspot for Tampa Bay foodies, the restaurant has taken on a major business expansion plan. They are set to open Datz’s younger sister, Dough, on April 8 and have a grand opening on April 21.
“This was a decision thoroughly based on the need for parking,” Suzanne said. “We’ve had a problem accommodating our guests since we opened.”
Datz bought Kalupa’s Bakery and Deli right next door to acquire its parking spots, but they decided to use the building as an extension to Datz. They spend about $15,000 a month on bread alone, so why not begin to bake their own bread in-house? But in order to take on such a large project, they needed the space. Hence the birth of Dough.
“There won’t be a set menu, but there will be everything from French style petit fours, opera cakes… And we’re having a lot of fun experimenting with doughnuts,” Suzanne said.
As opposed to Datz, which is a sit down restaurant, Dough will use the grab-and-go process. It will be a one-stop shop for breakfast, desserts, pastries, coffee and lunch. It will start off with a smaller selection of pastries and doughnuts then steadily introduce more items to the menu. I am most excited for the decadent Nutella Latté.
Dough will also sell gourmet chocolates hand-painted by Tampa chocolatier William Dean. His chocolates have been featured in The Hunger Games, and Whoopi Goldberg is one of his biggest customers. His colorful sweets come in all flavors including Apple Pie, Key Lime, Lavender, Mandarin Balsamic, PB & J, Tropical Caramel, Mexican Mango and much more.
But chocolate is not enough. Some of the Datz staff has recently begun to learn how to make gelato, and they are experimenting with all sorts of interesting flavors like Red Bull Raspberry Sorbet and Spicy Peanut Butter. Suzanne and Roger bring in experts to make sure their staff is top notch in every department, be it beer, wine, food or desserts.
“Something that sets Datz apart is that Suzanne and Roger are really serious about producing an excellent product,” said Kate Perry, marketing manager. “They go the extra mile to train the staff. That’s not something you see at every restaurant.”
The staff is not the only one that gets to learn from the pros. Datz hosts a number of food and alcohol events each month. Datz Beer Guy Kevin Reinhardt teaches classes on how to concoct homemade beer. He is even teaching a class on how to make beer cocktails on April 23. Their website updates every month with a new list of classes.
Since Datz and Dough have grown so much in popularity (Datz is currently the #2 Tampa restaurant on Urban Spoon, and Dough already has about 2,500 likes on Facebook), it only made sense to take under a catering division appropriately titled Dazzle. Dazzle is still fairly new since it only began in early February, but Suzanne and Kate expressed their enthusiasm toward their new business endeavor.
With the help of Dough and Dazzle, Datz is certainly a force to be reckoned with. Their fan base will continue to grow on their social media sites, and with the hype about Dough, I would not be surprised if the line went out the door during the first week. When I asked Kate to describe Datz in three words, she simply responded, “quirky, comfortable and refined.” The restaurant is certainly those things and so much more.
Datz is located at 2616 South MacDill Avenue, Tampa, FL 33629. It is open Mon. – Thurs. 7 a.m. – 10 p.m.; Fri. 7 a.m. – 11 p.m.; Sat. 8:30 a.m. – 11 p.m.; and Sun. 8:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Natalie Hicks can be reached at natalie.hicks@theminaretonline.com.