Aussie Grill to Open in Brandon

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Bloomin' Brands, Inc. is bringing its fast-casual Aussie Grill to Brandon. Aussie Grill will open at 1426 W. Brandon Blvd. in a freestanding restaurant that was previously home to Wow! That's Fresh. BDG Architects designed the original building and will now assist in the conversion.

Tampa Bay Business Journal

Bloomin' Brands Inc. plans to open an Aussie Grill in Brandon.

Bloomin', the Tampa-based parent company of Outback Steakhouse, debuted the fast-casual Aussie Grill in the U.S. at International Plaza in 2019. It's since become a growth vehicle for the company, and CEO David Deno told the Tampa Bay Business Journal in November that he plans to build a development pipeline of Aussie Grill locations.

In Brandon, Aussie Grill will open at 1426 W. Brandon Blvd. in a freestanding restaurant that was previously home to Wow! That's Fresh, a salad, burger and pizza joint created by the founders of Tampa-based chicken chain PDQ. The property is owned by a Canadian investor and wrapped up construction in 2014.

The building is just under 4,400 square feet, according to Hillsborough County property records. That's a bit larger than the prototype — a 2,600-square-foot standalone restaurant with a drive-thru, Deno said — but it's on a high-visibility stretch of Brandon Boulevard about a mile and a half from Westfield Brandon.

A Bloomin' (NASDAQ: BLMN) spokeswoman said the location should open in the spring.