Willie Jewell’s Old School Bar-B-Q, a fast-casual spinoff from the 68-year veteran Bono’s Pit Bar-B-Q concept, is headed to Tampa, Florida. Willie Jewell’s will be opening its newest location in January 2018.
The first Tampa area store will be located at 12004 Anderson Road and will be open 7 days a week from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. with full service Catering opportunities as well. This will be the eleventh location in the growing concept, which will now have restaurants in Florida, Georgia, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. In addition, Willie Jewell’s is set to open two more locations in Tampa later this year. Willie Jewell’s is looking to double in size in the next nine months as the concept is truly poised for growth.
Willie Jewell’s Old School Bar-B-Q was created by Joe Adeeb and Josh Martino, CEO and President of Bono’s and Willie Jewell’s. The fast-casual concept has a smaller footprint and a less expensive check average, but will still smoke all of their BBQ the old-fashioned way, the low and slow method that has made Bono’s a Jacksonville favorite since 1949 and now Willie Jewell’s since 2009.
Adeeb and Martino were looking for an opportunity to enter the rapidly growing fast-casual market as well as a less expensive franchise package for potential franchisees and area developers. Willie Jewell’s dedication to quality and authenticity is exemplified by the decades old recipes and the fact that everything is smoked on site and cut to order.
It turns out that Willie Jewell Daniels was a real person and someone that made a big impact in Adeeb’s life.
Adeeb’s grandfather rescued Daniels from the streets of Jacksonville when she was only a teen. She went to work in their family restaurant and quickly proved that she could cook almost anything.
Adeeb attributes 95 percent of his cooking knowledge to Willie Jewell and says, “Not only was Willie Jewell an incredible cook, she was an incredible person.” He cherishes the things that she taught him about cooking, but more importantly the things she taught him about life.
