At the Shoppes at Starkey Crossing on Gunn Highway, the neighbors are a list most people could recite from memory. There's Keke's Breakfast Cafe, Chick-fil-A, Dave's Hot Chicken, Einstein Bros. Bagels, Andy's Frozen Custard, Texas Roadhouse and Huey Magoo's Chicken Tenders. A new 1,500-square-foot space at 2290 Gunn Hwy has been built out in the middle of them for Toro, a sushi and ramen counter. It comes from the couple who run one of the few Michelin-starred kitchens in Tampa Bay.
Toro is the best-known new name in Odessa this season, and it follows a pattern the other new places share. A brewer who spent years pouring at the same address, a family that reopened a market first opened in 1978, and a Trinity restaurant group adding a sixth restaurant down the road all chose to build small. Each started from what someone close by saw the area lacked. Taken together, they show Odessa's food scene being filled in by owners with ties to the area while national chains keep filling the new shopping centers.
A Michelin team's takeout counter near home
Eric and Adriana Fralick own Koya, the nine-seat omakase in Hyde Park that was the first in the area to earn a Michelin star. They also own Noble Rice on Water Street and Kinjo, the Italian-Japanese restaurant in Hyde Park. According to Pasco Community, Eric Fralick drives from Pasco County to Tampa most days. He started thinking two years ago about bringing that cooking closer to where he lives, and the couple moved quickly when the Odessa space came up for lease close to their home.
"We recognize that the market for actual decent sushi and good fish is just not out here," Fralick said, in an interview quoted by Pasco Community.
Toro is a much smaller operation than Koya. Fralick expects it to run with fewer than 10 employees, and he described it as a casual, takeout-first concept. Part of the goal is to make sushi and ramen approachable for people who might not otherwise order them. The idea came from Koya, where takeout has become a significant share of the business.
The fish will come from the same place as Fralick's Tampa fish. As the Tampa Bay Times reported, Toro's nigiri selection will be similar to Noble Rice's, with fish bought at auction at Tokyo's Toyosu Market. Planned items include:
- Bluefin tuna otoro, which gives the restaurant its name
- Uni, kanpachi, shima aji and madai
- Ramen bowls and specialty maki, with an emphasis Fralick calls "takeout done right"
The Fralicks' target, as reported in September, was late October to early November.
The brewer who used to pour at the same address
A mile or so of Gunn Highway separates Starkey Crossing from 8729 Gunn Hwy, and the story at that address is similar. Austin Wright spent years as a bartender at Brū Florida Growler Bar. He took up homebrewing after starting there, led the buildout that turned the unit into Gulf Pine Brewing, and now brews the house recipes himself, Hoodline reported, citing the Tampa Beacon. After soft openings in late 2025, the taproom moved to regular hours in mid-January 2026 and held its grand opening that month.
Gulf Pine is built small on purpose. Wright brews about 30 gallons per batch. A common 3.5-barrel system at a small commercial brewery makes roughly 100 gallons. That smaller output lets the taproom rotate experimental beers frequently and pour guest taps from nearby breweries alongside them.
The taproom's event listing shows Games on Tap at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 14, and again on Saturday, Dec. 19.
A 1978 market that asked its customers what to add
Tarpon Springs Road has the oldest name in this group and the clearest example of the pattern. Keystone Farmers Market first opened on Brooker Creek in 1978 and later closed. Nectaria and Pete Koumbis and their family took it over in October 2025 and spent the following months reopening and expanding it, Tampa Bay Beacons reported in July.
According to that report, Nectaria Koumbis built the new programs from a Facebook post asking what people wanted to see. Some answers asked for education, kids' activities and something for seniors. Others asked for the market to be "somewhat like Keystone Farmers Market was before it closed." Bait fish is gone, but the boiled peanut recipe is the same one the market was known for. The family still wants to grow the farm and livestock side, which already includes cows, and they plan to save for it over time.
"We're a mom and pop market, we're not Publix," Koumbis told the Beacons. She said she wants to keep prices fair and stock local products.
The market's posted hours are 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, at 12615 Tarpon Springs Rd. Two monthly events come out of those customer requests:
| Event | When | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor Pop-Up | Last Saturday of each month; next on Nov. 28 | Small local businesses set up in the back of the market |
| Senior Farmers Market | Last Tuesday of each month; Nov. 24 this month | A free basket of vegetables, fruit, cheese and other items, picked by the staff |
A Trinity restaurant group adds Italian on State Road 54
Roma Social is the largest operation in this group, and it follows the same pattern. Pineapple Hospitality Group already runs Zim Zari, which serves coastal tacos and cocktails in Trinity, and a Craft Street Kitchen there. Its other restaurants are a second Craft Street Kitchen and Shaker & Peel in Oldsmar, plus Agave Social, which opened on Dale Mabry in Carrollwood in 2024. Roma Social will be the group's fifth concept and sixth restaurant.
The Tampa Bay Times reported on Nov. 6 that Roma Social is coming to 10900 State Road 54, Suite 105, near Duck Slough Boulevard. The menu is built around house-made sourdough focaccia and Roman-style pizza al taglio, inspired by co-founder Jon Rehm's travels to Rome. Beverage director Harmony Mulcahey, a Level 2 sommelier, is running the wine program.
Rehm told the Times that some of his father's first restaurants were Italian. "We've watched this community grow, and we've always felt it deserved a restaurant like this," he said. The launch is planned for early December, with the exact date to come.
The four, side by side
| Place | Address | Who is behind it | How it is built |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toro | 2290 Gunn Hwy, Shoppes at Starkey Crossing | Eric and Adriana Fralick of Koya, Noble Rice and Kinjo | About 1,500 sq. ft., takeout-first, fewer than 10 employees |
| Gulf Pine Brewing | 8729 Gunn Hwy | Austin Wright, formerly a bartender at the same address | About 30-gallon batches, rotating taps |
| Keystone Farmers Market | 12615 Tarpon Springs Rd | The Koumbis family | Market first opened in 1978, monthly community events |
| Roma Social | 10900 SR 54, Suite 105 | Pineapple Hospitality Group, which has two restaurants in Trinity | Sixth restaurant for a family-owned group |
Each one is small compared with the chains nearby, and each owner started with a connection to the area. Fralick lives near the Starkey Crossing site, Wright had worked at the Gunn Highway address before opening there, the Koumbis family asked customers what to add, and Pineapple Hospitality already had two restaurants in Trinity.
Dates to keep through December
- Saturday, Nov. 14, 2 p.m.: Games on Tap at Gulf Pine Brewing, 8729 Gunn Hwy.
- Tuesday, Nov. 24: Senior Farmers Market basket pickup at Keystone Farmers Market.
- Saturday, Nov. 28: Vendor Pop-Up behind Keystone Farmers Market, 12615 Tarpon Springs Rd.
- Early December: Roma Social's planned launch at 10900 State Road 54.
- Saturday, Dec. 19, 2 p.m.: Games on Tap returns to Gulf Pine.
- Tuesday, Dec. 29: The last Tuesday of the month, the next senior basket pickup at Keystone.
The Lewkowicz Group has worked in Northwest Tampa and Odessa for decades, and we follow Gunn Highway and State Road 54 closely. If you want to talk through what these additions mean for your part of Odessa, or you just have a new favorite spot to share, Let's Connect.
