Popular St. Pete Mexican Restaurant Nueva Cantina To Open Tampa Location
Nueva Cantina, a popular St. Petersburg Mexican restaurant, transformed its employees into owners while planning to open up shop in downtown Tampa summer 2025.
The new location will move into the former Bello restaurant at 903 N. Franklin Street, beneath the Nine15 apartment building. Both CEO Raul Medina and Chef Danny Jimenez want staff at both locations to have a stake in the business.
The move to employee ownership wasn’t quick – it took six months to work out all the details. St. Pete employees now have actual ownership in the business, with Tampa staff getting the same opportunity soon.
Since 2016, they’ve been serving up food at 1625 4th Street South. Their kitchen sources ingredients directly from Mexico, while cooks from Jalisco and Mexico City create genuine street food.
“Our goal is to bring the authentic, mouthwatering flavors of delicious Mexican hole-in-the-wall tacos that we all love into a modern restaurant world, while crafting the freshest and most creative cocktails to perfectly complement every bite for a memorable experience,” Chef Jimenez explained to ilovetheburg.com.
The menu features favorites like birria barbacoa tacos and their unique take on Mexican pizza. For drinks, their fresh-squeezed margaritas are the star of the show. At their current location, customers can relax on a Tulum-inspired patio. Inside, the kitchen team puts modern twists on traditional Mexican street food.
This St. Pete favorite quickly gained popularity through local recommendations. Now they’re ready to bring their flavors to the other side of the bay with their second location.
