After a four-year delay resulting from the nationwide recession, construction will finally begin on a $33 million boutique-style hotel next to Bern's Steak House next month.
Deemed the Epicurean Hotel, this 140-room boutique lodging facility hopes to attract business travelers and food-loving tourists and expose them to the burgeoning culinary landscape of Tampa Bay. The hotel will boast a full-service bakery, bistro, fitness center and spa for guests while Bern's Steak House will likely provide a popular choice for luxury dinner and dessert next door.
The famed Tampa steak house and wine empire's involvement doesn't stop there either. Bern's Fine Wines will relocate into a space in the Epicurean Hotel from its current location next to Sidebern's, the contemporary sister restaurant to Bern's Steak House.
According to the Tampa Tribune, the hotel's bakery will be called Chocolate Pi. In addition to serving a variety of baked goods for hotel guests and the public, Chocolate Pi will also produce breads and pastries for both Bern's restaurants.
Bern's Steak House owner David Laxer and his partner group Mainsail Lodging and Development of Tampa have joined forces with Marriott to make the Epicurean Hotel part of Marriott's Autograph Collection, an assortment of 34 high-end boutique resorts throughout the world.
Construction on the Epicurean Hotel is expected to begin sometime next month. Hotel officials have set a tentative target opening for November of 2013. We'll keep you posted as more news arises.
