Golden Corral’s planned St. Petersburg, Florida, restaurant is taking shape on paper at the former Hooters beside Tyrone Square Mall. Newly reported plans call for an 8,105-square-foot buffet with seating for up to 254 diners at 2250 Tyrone Boulevard North.
St. Pete Rising reported the submitted city plans on October 9. What Now Tampa’s October 10 report identifies the applicant as St. Pete Corral LLC. An opening date has not been announced.
The plan includes booths and tables, a wood-top bar and an outdoor patio facing the parking lot, according to St. Pete Rising. Hooters operated at the address from 2006 until late 2021; the local report says its closure was attributed to changing shopping habits and declining mall traffic.
The incoming Golden Corral would be the chain’s first restaurant in St. Petersburg, St. Pete Rising reports. It would also restore a Golden Corral presence in Pinellas County after the older Largo restaurant at 10050 Ulmerton Road closed during the pandemic in 2020.
A smaller building for the familiar buffet
The Tyrone conversion is one of the early applications of Golden Corral’s smaller prototype. In an April interview with Foodservice Equipment & Supplies, senior director of franchise business development Dan Doulen specifically identified the St. Petersburg Hooters conversion and a Baytown, Texas, new build as examples.
Doulen described the updated format as approximately 7,700–9,200 square feet, compared with about 9,000–11,000 square feet for traditional ground-up restaurants. The aim is to preserve the variety diners expect while making more sites usable and reducing development costs.
The design also gives takeout a dedicated entrance and pickup area and rearranges kitchen production to help staff replenish the food bars. Those are details of the prototype program; the published local report supplies the Tyrone restaurant’s size and seating plan.
For diners attached to sirloin steak, yeast rolls and carrot cake, the important distinction is that the smaller prototype remains a buffet. The footprint is shrinking; Golden Corral’s executive describes retaining the familiar variety. The rolls have not been told to pack light.
The local plans add to an earlier announcement
Golden Corral included St. Petersburg in its April 30 development announcement, which The Wire previously covered. St. Petersburg was then in preconstruction, alongside projects in Baytown, Spanish Fort and San Juan. The October reporting adds the address, submitted plans, seating and local operator.
St. Pete Rising identifies franchisee Britt Guyer as the operator. Guyer opened his first Golden Corral in 2013 after 15 years in marketing and public relations with the International Motor Sports Association, according to the report.
The same local coverage says the old Largo Golden Corral was demolished in April for a Chick-fil-A, with a new Largo restaurant also planned. That is a separate project. For the Tyrone address, the next milestone is an opening schedule; local buffet prices have not been announced.
