Cook Out Tampa Location May Be In The Works

A new cheap fast food option may be coming to Tampa. It's not official yet, but the popular southern fast food chain Cook Out may be coming to Tampa. This would also be the first Cook Out location in Florida.

According to ABC Action News, the company bought two properties in Tampa. Official records from the Hillsborough County clerks office says that they purchased 2 old Boston Market locations, one in Carrollwood (16215 North Dale Mabry Highway) and Temple Terrace (5501 E. Fowler Avenue).

This would be so exciting, we've been saying that a Cook Out Tampa location needs to happen and we were spot on with our predictions of where they should put one. The drive-thru line for Cook Out would always be packed by USF. There's nothing college kids love more than cheap food. And Cook Out is actually pretty tasty, for fast food.

Cook Out originated in 1989 in Greensboro NC. If you've ever taken a road trip around the south, you've probably seen a few Cook Out locations along the way. There's locations all around NC, SC, Georgia, and Tennessee. They have a huge menu with typical fast food meals like burgers and chicken sandwiches. But they also have BBQ, quesadillas, wraps, hot dogs and corn dogs, and over 30+ flavors of milkshakes.

The best part is really the prices. You can get a ton of food for cheap prices (at least in 2024 numbers). And sure, it's fast food, so is it going to be perfect every time? Probably not. But to me, it's still worth stopping for whenever I'm taking a road trip out of Florida.

Now don't get too excited, nothing has been confirmed by the restaurant. There is no Florida location listed on the Cook Out website.

It's no secret that we have some of the best dining options in the Tampa Bay area. And it seems like more and more companies are expanding to the southeast/Florida in general. But there are a handful of really great restaurants that are missing in our area. Whether it's fast food or a sit-down restaurant, we think these restaurants need to make their way to Tampa.

One honorary mention that we left off the list is Del Taco. There's a location in Orlando that we always stop at whenever we go to the theme parks or a concert. Earlier this year the news broke that the Tampa Bay area could possibly be getting several Del Taco locations. But things have been quiet since a press release went out earlier this year. Other big chains that have made their way to Tampa include Dave's Hot Chicken, Dutch Bros (coming soon), Raising Cane's, and a few others.

When you travel to other states do you try to stick with restaurants you know? Or are you willing to try something new? We've tried all the places on our list and have wished we would see a Tampa location open ever since. Even though we always try to eat at local restaurants in Tampa, sometimes it's easier to order takeout or visit a drive-thru. One of the biggest requests in the Tampa area is In-N-Out. Although some may see the burger chain as over-hyped, we think a Tampa location would do really well. Any places we missed on our list? Feel free to shout it out on social media and maybe we'll add it! We got our inspiration from Creative Loafing after we noticed a few places on their list have made it to Tampa.

Obviously the first on our list is In-N-Out. Everyone has their own opinion on the west coast burger chain. Some think it's overrated, and some think it's the best fast-food burger out there.

We're surprised that one of the biggest fast-food chains in the south hasn't made it's way to Florida AT ALL! Cook Out has a stacked menu of everything you could want with those old school fast food prices. Plus they have over 30 milkshake flavors. Can we start a petition to bring Cook Out to Tampa?

This is for all the deep dish pizza lovers. Although there are some great local spots that make an awesome deep dish pie, nothing beats Giordano’s. They do ship frozen pizzas across the country but we need a Tampa location!

We get that we have Chick-Fil-A, Popeye's, Zaxby's, Raising Canes, etc. But would one more chicken restaurant really hurt? There are already a handful of locations in Florida, but the closest one to Tampa is in Sanford, just a little north of Orlando.

This breakfast place is SO good! We are BEGGING for a Florida location, even if it means we have take a drive from Tampa. Snooze Eatery is spread across the southern half of the U.S. with locations in Colorado, Texas, Arizona, California, and even Georgia.