Tastes Pretty Good Hospitality Group — the Tampa team behind Michelin-starred Rocca and Bib Gourmand-recognized Streetlight Taco — is opening its first restaurant outside Tampa. Rippers will occupy the ground floor of the fully restored 1914 Telephone Building at 534 Cleveland Street in Downtown Clearwater, with a menu anchored by New Jersey-style hot dogs deep-fried until the casings split. No opening date has been announced, per the operator's Instagram.
The group's Tampa portfolio spans three restaurants: Rocca, which holds a Michelin star; Streetlight Taco, which carries a Bib Gourmand designation from the same guide; and Lumbre, the most recently opened of the three. Rippers would mark the group's first address outside Tampa and its first counter-service concept — a shift from the guide-recognized rooms in Tampa toward a walk-up format anchored to a New Jersey roadside staple.
The anchor item is the ripper itself — a hot dog submerged in hot oil until the casing blisters and splits open, a preparation that produces charred, irregular edges distinct from the grilled or steamed versions common at Florida beachside stands. New Jersey's roadside culture made the ripper a regional fixture; the format rarely appears in a context backed by Michelin-recognized kitchen talent. Alongside the signature hot dogs, the Rippers menu will include burgers, chicken wings, sandwiches, fries, and handcrafted milkshakes — a counter-service spread that positions the concept closer to a walk-up diner than to the full-service rooms the group runs in Tampa.
The 534 Cleveland Street address places Rippers inside the 1914 Telephone Building, a structure rebuilt brick by brick in a full restoration completed as part of Downtown Clearwater's revitalization, per the operator's Instagram. The building's ground floor sits on Cleveland Street, one of downtown's main commercial corridors, giving the concept one of the more visible retail positions in the district.
A timeline for the opening has not been released. Rippers will be Tastes Pretty Good's only operation outside Tampa and its first in the counter-service format — a pairing of Michelin-recognized brand equity with a concept built around a New Jersey roadside preparation. Downtown Clearwater's Cleveland Street corridor is where that combination gets its first test.
