Epicurean Hotel

The Epicurean Hotel is a boutique hospitality property in Tampa, Florida, positioned around food and wine culture rather than as a conventional chain hotel. It is closely associated with the Bern's Steak House restaurant family — one of Tampa's best-known fine-dining institutions — and sits in the South Howard Avenue (SoHo) dining and nightlife district, an area the hotel's culinary identity draws on directly. Public reporting identifies the Epicurean Hotel as one of the property owners that joined Bern's Steak House and companies tied to the Ciccio Restaurant Group in litigation against the City of Tampa over a large flood-relief project along South Howard Avenue. The two class-action lawsuits, filed in court and reported by FOX 13 Tampa Bay, challenge a roughly $100 million stormwater project that would install large box culverts beneath South Howard and West Swann avenues to move floodwaters away from the Parkland Estates and Palma Ceia Pines neighborhoods. The suits name the City of Tampa, Mayor Jane Castor, contractor Kimmins Contracting Corp. and engineering firm AtkinsRéalis USA Inc. as defendants, and allege that the city improperly redirected $13.4 million of stormwater-fee money and lacks the property rights needed for construction. Business owners asked a judge to block construction, which the report said could begin in spring 2027 after Gasparilla and could tear up South Howard Avenue for three to four years. That dispute is the clearest documented window into the hotel's commercial role: it is a stakeholder in the South Howard corridor whose business depends on the accessibility and character of that street. Beyond this, the available evidence does not establish the hotel's opening date, ownership structure, room count, restaurant and bar program, or brand affiliations, so those details are left unstated here rather than guessed. As a brand, the Epicurean Hotel is best understood as a locally rooted, experience-driven hospitality concept — a place marketed on gastronomy, wine and proximity to a celebrated restaurant scene — rather than a national hotel flag. Its market positioning is premium and culinary-led, aimed at leisure travelers and food-focused visitors to Tampa.

The documented public record for the Epicurean Hotel centers on its role as a South Howard Avenue property owner and hospitality business in Tampa, Florida. Reporting by FOX 13 Tampa Bay places the hotel alongside Bern's Steak House — the iconic Tampa restaurant — and companies tied to the Ciccio Restaurant Group as co-plaintiffs in two class-action lawsuits filed against the City of Tampa over a major flood-relief project. The lawsuits challenge a roughly $100 million stormwater project designed to install large box culverts under South Howard and West Swann avenues, draining floodwaters away from the Parkland Estates and Palma Ceia Pines neighborhoods. The plaintiffs named the City of Tampa, Mayor Jane Castor, contractor Kimmins Contracting Corp. and engineering firm AtkinsRéalis USA Inc. as defendants. The first suit alleges the city illegally diverted $13.4 million from a taxpayer-assessed stormwater fee across a dozen other projects without a required public hearing, and also challenges the award of a $92.7 million contract. The business owners asked a judge to block construction, which the report said could start in spring 2027 after Gasparilla and could tear up South Howard Avenue for three to four years. The available evidence does not document the hotel's founding date, developer, ownership structure, design team, or its opening. What it does establish is the hotel's identity as an established commercial presence on South Howard Avenue with sufficient stake in the corridor to join litigation over its future. Any fuller corporate history — including parent entities, management agreements and brand affiliations — would require additional sourcing.

• Epicurean Hotel joins Bern's Steak House and Ciccio Restaurant Group-linked companies in filing two class-action lawsuits against the City of Tampa over the South Howard Avenue flood relief project.

Premium, food-and-wine-driven boutique hospitality rooted in Tampa's South Howard dining district.

• Boutique hotel accommodations

• Culinary- and wine-themed guest experiences

• 2026

  Epicurean Hotel controversy: class-action lawsuits filed over South Howard flood project

  Bern's Steak House, companies tied to the Ciccio Restaurant Group and the Epicurean Hotel filed two class-action lawsuits against the City of Tampa, Mayor Jane Castor, contractor Kimmins Contracting Corp. and engineering firm AtkinsRéalis USA Inc., challenging the $100 million flood relief project along South Howard Avenue. The first lawsuit alleges the city illegally diverted $13.4 million from a taxpayer-assessed stormwater fee without a required public hearing and awarded the $92.7 million construction contract to Kimmins without following proper selection guidelines; the second claims Tampa does not own the property rights required to dig trenches underneath private land. The plaintiffs are asking a judge to block construction along South Howard Avenue until the legal disputes are resolved.

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• 2026.10.08

  Reported2026.10.10

  Bern's Steak House and other property owners file class-action lawsuits against Tampa over $100 million South Howard flood project[1]Bern's Steak House sues Tampa over $100M South Howard flood project | FOX 13 Tampa Bayfox13news.com

  Bern's Steak House, companies tied to the Ciccio Restaurant Group and the Epicurean Hotel filed two class-action lawsuits Thursday against the City of Tampa, Mayor Jane Castor, contractor Kimmins Contracting Corp. and engineering firm AtkinsRéalis USA Inc., challenging the $100 million flood relief project along South Howard Avenue. The first lawsuit alleges the city illegally diverted $13.4 million from a taxpayer-assessed stormwater fee without a required public hearing and awarded the $92.7 million construction contract to Kimmins without following proper selection guidelines; the second claims Tampa does not own the property rights required to dig trenches underneath private land. The plaintiffs are asking a judge to block construction along South Howard Avenue until the legal disputes are resolved.

  Weekdays and relative dates follow the original report; their exact calendar dates have not been verified.

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1. 1Bern's Steak House sues Tampa over $100M South Howard flood project | FOX 13 Tampa Bayfox13news.com
2. 2Tampa Bay History | FOX 13 Tampa Bayfox13news.com