The Outpost owners Mike Diogostine and Russell Bruno are in the process of acquiring a full liquor license, with the University of Tampa administration in full opposition. The Outpost is a popular sports bar and restaurant that opened in 2013, located on the corner of West Kennedy and North Boulevard, where many UT students and faculty go to hang out.
Diogostine, 32, and Bruno, 35, are both UT alumni who graduated with business degrees. Diogostine was the previous owner of Frankie’s, a hotdog and burger restaurant that was in the spot The Outpost is currently located. He was featured for his business success in the UT Journal when he first opened Frankie’s in 2008.
“When we opened The Outpost, our goal was to create a neighborhood atmosphere where faculty and students could come and have a good time,” Diogostien said.
UT objects to The Outpost receiving a full liquor license and has asked the Tampa City Council to deny its liquor license application. The restaurant already has a license to serve beer and wine but not to serve hard liquor like vodka or gin. A City Council hearing took place on Feb. 20 where UT administration and other people in the local community came to either voice their concerns or provide support about The Outpost’s request. UT Dean of Students Stephanie Russell-Krebs provided a statement on behalf of UT administration, indicating their motives behind this opposition:
“The University does not benefit from bars with full liquor licenses that are both located close to the UT campus and target UT students as a large part of their market. Some of these bars encourage excessive drinking, which diminishes the educational learning environment, is detrimental to the health of our students and detracts from our focus on student learning.”
The statement further discussed different zoning violations that would occur if the license were to be approved, like insufficient parking and apparent building code violations.
UT professors and staff attend trivia events that the Outpost hosts every Wednesday. Other UT students frequently go as well.
Diogostine argues that The Outpost needs the license in order to keep up with the changing restaurant and bar scene in the surrounding area. Ducky’s, another restaurant and bar recently opened on Kennedy, includes a bowling alley for more customer appeal. An additional bar on Kennedy, Fire, has a full liquor license to attract customers as well.
“Things have been changing around us, especially on West Kennedy. Because we don’t have this license yet, we are at an obvious competitive disadvantage,” Diogostine said.
Instead, Diogostine states that The Outpost is a safe place where people of all ages can come to enjoy themselves and that this liquor license will not change this objective.
“We want to be a place where sports fanatics can come to hang out,” Diogostine said, “a family-friendly place, where we know our customers by name.”
Another Tampa City Council meeting will take place today at 9 a.m to further discuss whether or not the license will be approved. It is open for the public to attend. The Minaret will continue to follow this story and provide updates on further developments.
Lauren Richey can be reached at lauren.richey@theminaretonline.com
Katherine Lavacca can be reached at katherine.lavacca@theminaretonline.com