Tampa Fire Destroys First-Ever Fresh Kitchen Location: Owners

TAMPA, FL — The first-ever location of Fresh Kitchen, a Florida-based healthy food chain, was destroyed Monday morning in a Tampa fire.

Firefighters responded to the two-alarm fire to battle the blaze at the SoHo restaurant at 1350 S. Howard Ave., which was engulfed in flames, just after 4:30 a.m., Fox 13 reported. It was mostly contained by about 7 a.m.

There were no employees or guests in the building at the time and no one was injured in the fire, Fresh Kitchen wrote in a Facebook post.

The company wrote that it is “absolutely heartbroken” about the fire, adding, “We’re still wrapping our heads and hearts around this, and the center of our focus is making sure our teams feel supported during this difficult time.”

August would have marked the 10-year-anniversary for the restaurant, which the company called its “little ‘House on Howard’”

This flagship location was “where it all started,” Fresh Kitchen wrote. “So many moments shared and seeds planted for what Fresh Kitchen is today.”

The SoHo location will be closed permanently as the company works on rebuilding it.

There are 14 Fresh Kitchen locations across the state, including SoHo. Three new restaurants are opening soon — a Lutz location opening Aug. 20, another near the University of South Florida campus in Tampa opening in the fall and a location in Weston opening early next year.