On a drive from Las Vegas to Los Angeles, I found a place off the highway that had a Del Taco, Jack in the Box and In-N-Out on the same stretch. Buffet time!
No, sorry it's not that one. I often hear how badly Floridians would love to have In-N-Out restaurants. As someone who lived in California for 6 or 7 years, I can tell you - it's not that great. Don't get me wrong. If I visit Cali or Vegas, I'll always drop in to have a Double Double Animal Style with fries. But honestly, to me, Five Guys burgers are much better. Sure Five Guys is more expensive. But I'll take Five Guys or a Shake Shack burger (opening soon in Tampa) any day over In-N-Out.
If you're hoping for a Florida In-N-Out location to open, don't hold your breath. Their business model is set up to have their food within a certain radius of their distribution points. Florida is nowhere near one so unless ownership changes, it's a longshot we'll see one here in Florida in our lifetime. Anyway, enough about In-N-Out. That's not the chain coming to Tampa next year.
The Tampa Bay Times reports that Del Taco is coming to Tampa Bay in 2022. There is already a handful of them scattered here in Florida. Orlando has a couple. But the Tampa area has never had a Del Taco location. Del Taco is similar to Taco Bell, but they don't stop at tacos and burritos. They have burgers, fries, chicken strips, salads and shakes too. It's pretty good stuff. When I lived in California, I ate more often at Del Taco than I did In-N-Out.
No specific Tampa area locations have been made public yet, but they have indicated that the first locations would be in the Bradenton and Sarasota area. They're looking at real estate right now (bad timing huh?). They anticipate having at least 7 locations in the Tampa Bay area according to the Times. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
Geno's West Coast Fast Food Run
Here are my 4 gotta-visit fast food stops when I visit the west coast.
