Jeff Houck

The Tampa Tribune’s food writer since 2005, Jeff Houck covers the way people live through their food. He also hosts the Table Conversations food podcast and believes that everything crunchy is good.

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Bad Economy Claims Another Tampa Restaurant [Chez Bryce Says It Will Close]

Posted Jul 12, 2010 by Jeff Houck

Updated Jul 12, 2010 at 04:54 PM

About four years ago, Michael Rugers at Southern Wine & Spirits told me about his favorite new restaurant, Chez Bryce on Davis Islands.

Michael couldn’t rave enough about the food. And about Bryce. Michael is a champion of great chefs and great wines and has an amazing palate. When he suggests something, I listen. When he said I needed to meet J. Bryce Whittlesey, I did.

Over the years, I’d go to Chez Bryce for lunch or for special dinners. A chocolate dinner I attended in 2009 was one of my favorite dinners ever in Tampa.

Now comes sad news: Chez Bryce will close this weekend. An e-mail blast from Whittlesey reads:

Dear Friends,

We regret to inform you that Chez Bryce will be closing its doors on Sunday, June 18th.  We are deeply saddened by this, but due to the recession and current economy, we are unable to continue to operate.  Although this is a very difficult time, we want you to know that we are deeply grateful for all of your support over the past three years.  We appreciate you believing in our restaurant and for giving us the opportunity to provide you with what we hope were very memorable dining experiences – not only at Chez Bryce but in your homes as well.

We are planning a farewell dinner on Saturday night, June 17th and hope that you will be able to join us to say goodbye. We are planning to send an e-mail with details, however, please feel free to call the restaurant for further information and reservations.

On a more positive note, Chef Bryce will continue to offer his catering services and can be reached at 813-368-1256 or at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).  Bryce looks forward to staying in touch with all of you and continuing to create the same dining experiences in the privacy of your own homes.

We thank each and every one of you for allowing us to share our passion for food, wine and friends with you……..all of the memorable moments will not be soon forgotten.

Kind Regards,

The Chez Bryce Team
J. Bryce Whittlesey
Chef/Owner
Chez Bryce

This is bad, people. Bryce in a very short amount of time established his name along with Chris Ponte, Robert Masson, Marty Blitz, Dan Tederous, Domenica Macchia, Tyson Grant and BT Nguyen as one of the best chefs in the area.

True his location is notorious as a place where restaurants often have difficulty getting noticed, but when someone of his caliber goes down swinging, no one’s business is safe.

(Thanks to Tammy Sassin for her help with this story.)