Saddle Bags, a new country-themed bar and restaurant, is coming to Ybor City

A new place for honky tonk and Southern eats is getting ready to open on Ybor City’s historic 7th Avenue.

Saddle Bags will open out of a 13,000-square-foot, space at 2234 E 7th Ave., which is connected to an LLC affiliated with developer Darryl Shaw. The concept will specialize in Southern comfort food, live country music and a variety of affordable drinks. It's located right around the corner from popular concepts Columbia, Al's Finger Licking Good Soul Food and Casa Santo Stefano.

According to its website, Saddle Bags will be “where Southern charm meets city nights,” with recent photos depicting its large stage area, dance floor and of course, a mechanical bull.

Saddle Bags is aiming to soft open in November, but is still waiting on one last permit to be approved by the city of Tampa.

Approved construction plans obtained through public records show that Saddle Bags will boast two dance floors, three main dining areas, three separate bars, a singular kitchen, a few waiting areas, a few pool tables, a mechanical bull, a large stage area and accompanying green room.

Its building plan also states that the massive bar and restaurant will have a total occupancy of 804 people.

While its menu has not been released yet, folks can soon expect hearty, Southern comfort food when Saddle Bags opens its doors later this year.

Saddle Bags is technically zoned as a restaurant, some are concerned that it may be more of a music venue and nightclub instead.

Stephen Michelini, a Tampa-based consultant that’s assisting the new concept's ownership team, told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that local residents should be assured that Saddle Bags will definitely function as a restaurant, in accordance with its zoning. He added that it will be a “fun, but not raucous place.”

A restaurant zoning means that at least 51% of Saddle Bags’ profits will come from food sales, and that its kitchen will be open during all operating hours, even during late-night performances.

While this soon-to-open hotspot shares the name of a popular country bar and venue in Savannah, Michelini says that Tampa’s location has no association with the Georgia concept—although the logos of both locations seem to be exactly the same (a depiction of a woman riding a mechanical bull.)

A WTSP article from last year reported that Saddle Bags’ Ybor parcel caught fire, and while no one was injured, it may have stalled its construction process.

Although Saddle Bags’ website doesn’t offer much information about its opening timeline, it states that its opening hours will eventually 5 p.m.-3 a.m. daily, although that’s subject to change.

Subscribe to Creative Loafing newsletters.

Follow us: Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter