What Survives Every Turnover At Nebraska And Osborne

"We're open to doing anything as long as people show up and the community is supporting us," Carlos Carrillo told the Tampa Bay Times this month, standing in the space that will become Coco's: In the Heights. The address is 4815 N Nebraska Ave., the corner of Nebraska and Osborne. Most of Seminole Heights still calls it the Mini-Mart.

Coco's plans to open there in late October. Counting the Mini-Mart, that makes Coco's the fourth concept tied to this lot, and two of those four have actually run a kitchen here. Burgers gave way to hot chicken, and hot chicken is giving way to Cuban sandwiches, but the patio games have stayed put through each change. From the shuffleboard era to the ping-pong table Carrillo says he's keeping, every concept pitched for this corner has been built around the same outdoor setup. As of October 12, though, Coco's is still scheduled, not open.

The corner, in order

The lot's history runs longer than most of its current neighbors. The Tampa Bay Times reports that Proper House Group modeled the Mini-Mart on an old-school mini mart that first stood on the lot in the 1950s. Before the 2018 renovation, the building was a drive-thru convenience store. Since then:

1. 2018 to March 30, 2025: Nebraska Mini-Mart. Proper House Group opened it as a mostly outdoor burger spot with shuffleboard courts, outdoor games and a family-friendly feel. The group also runs Rooster & the Till. Its Korean cheesesteak with kimchi and gochujang mayo earned a reputation of its own. The 2018 plans also included a custom ping-pong table and bocce.
2. 2025, about six months: King of the Coop. Chef Joe Dodd signed the lease on March 17, 2025, and called the move a homecoming. Creative Loafing Tampa Bay reported that he was buying everything, from the kitchen equipment to the outdoor games. The Nashville hot chicken concept lasted roughly half a year at the address.
3. June 2026: Nebraska Roadside, announced. A "food park" pitched as a family-friendly entertainment destination, with a 1960s look and a fall 2026 target. It never opened, and its Instagram account has since been deactivated.
4. Late October 2026: Coco's: In the Heights, scheduled.

If Coco's opens on schedule, about 19 months will have passed since the Mini-Mart served its last burger. Only about six of those months had a restaurant running on the corner.

Every pitch has been about the yard

All four concepts made a version of the same promise. When the Mini-Mart closed, Proper House Group told Creative Loafing that it didn't own the building or the land, and that the lease had passed to a new business. A spokesperson called it "a great spot for the neighborhood." King of the Coop bought the yard games along with the kitchen equipment. Nebraska Roadside's announcement, as Creative Loafing reported it, went furthest:

"We're keeping the soul of the corner you love, but driving it into a whole new era, with some nostalgia mixed in."

That concept said it planned to raise money from locals to get over the finish line. No published reporting explains why it never opened, so this post doesn't guess.

Coco's is approaching the same corner with a smaller build. The Tampa Bay Times reports that the team has spent around $100,000 on tile throughout the dining room, bathrooms and kitchen, plus new kitchen equipment. The indoor dining room will seat around 24. Outside, the plan includes regulation cornhole, giant Jenga, and the ping-pong table, which stays. With only about two dozen seats indoors, the patio will do much of the work, just as it did for the two restaurants before.

What Coco's is bringing to the patio

This isn't a new name in Tampa. Carrillo and Adam Hendricks, both native Tampeños, already run Coco's at 40th Street in East Tampa's Jackson Heights. Carrillo grew up working at his father's Coco's Sandwich Shop on 22nd Avenue in Palmetto Beach. He started Coco's Latin Cuisine as a food truck in 2019. The 40th Street location moved into its building in 2024, after a year of serving from the truck in the parking lot while permitting got sorted out.

According to the Times and Creative Loafing, the Seminole Heights menu aims a step above the sandwich-shop original:

• A Cuban and a palomilla steak sandwich, plus handmade devil crab
• Loaded tostones, Cuban-style bowls and tacos
• Beer and wine
• Lunch and dinner, with breakfast a possibility in the new year
• Live music on the patio Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings

Two smaller details from the Times' visit. Fresh-ground espresso and cafecito won't appear on the menu, but you can still order them. And Carrillo wants community events, starting with a Halloween movie night on the lawn after trick-or-treating. That movie night depends on the opening date holding, so the restaurant's Instagram, @cocosat40th, is the place to check before you bring the kids.

Meanwhile, three blocks south

While the Mini-Mart corner was waiting for its next tenant, the stretch of Nebraska south of it lost two businesses that had stayed in place for a decade or more.

Each of the two summer departures had its own reason. Brian and Kelly Fenstermacher told followers it was "time to retire" after three decades in brewing. In a 2014 interview, Brian had said, "I have no aspirations of getting bigger than we are. Just getting better at what we do," as Creative Loafing recalled in July. Old Heights Bistro, with its sushi rolls, curries and sake, is moving to the former Brunchery space in the same Palma Ceia plaza as Pane Rustica. Owner Philip Hutchison told Creative Loafing, "I got parking, new AC, everyone is nice and willing to work with me." The new location will serve only breakfast and lunch for its first two years. The bistro had targeted a late-August or early-September opening, but its own site still lists Suite 109 as "coming soon."

No new tenant has been announced for either 4500 or 4703 in the reporting reviewed for this post. Both closures came during what Creative Loafing called a long summer of Tampa Bay restaurant and bar closures, blamed on everything from inflation and hurricane recovery costs to changing drinking habits.

So the picture along the 4500 to 4800 blocks this fall is mixed. Two longtime spaces sit without named successors. Saucin' Wings remains at 4725. And the corner that has cycled through the most operators is the one with an opening date on the calendar, along with a ping-pong table that has outlasted both of the restaurants that ran there.

A practical note for the next few weeks

Coco's set its target as "by the end of October" in a Sept. 30 report, and the Times repeated "late October" on Oct. 5. If you want something reliable nearby while you wait, the Seminole Heights Sunday Market has run on the second Sunday of every month at American Legion Post 111, 6918 N Florida Ave., since 2010. Once the opening date is posted, the corner of Nebraska and Osborne will have regular hours, live music on the patio three nights a week, and a menu that can tell you whether this tenant fits the yard better than the last two.

Ryan will keep an eye on 4500 and 4703 N Nebraska for news of what goes in next, and on whether the patio at 4815 fills up on Thursday nights. If you know something about your stretch of Nebraska or Florida Avenue, Ryan Block Realty would like to hear it. Let's connect.