Restaurateur Jeff Gigante Brings His Newest Restaurant To Westshore, Union New American

Next Level Brands Continues Focus On Creating Experiential Dining Concepts Around Tampa With Opening of Modern American Restaurant, Marking Restaurant Groups’ Third

TAMPA, FL — Next Level Brands has announced the opening of its third culinary concept, Union New American at Westshore City Center.

The restaurant will offer two dining experiences: a 284-seat restaurant and expansive bar on the ground level with a second-level lounge that offers a rooftop experience that doubles as a terrace and private dining room set.

Dinner at the Union New American's ground-level restaurant will begin at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, April 4, with both lunch (11:30 a.m.) and dinner service starting on Wednesday, April 5.

The rooftop restaurant will open in May.

Next Level Brands is a partnership made up of restaurateur Jeff Gigante; real estate entrepreneur Andrew Wright; and attorney/investor Joseph Guggino.

“The Westshore area is home to a vast population of business professionals and travelers,” said Gigante. “Union New American is a full experience — an adult playground of sorts — where guests can conduct business during the day, close the work day with a cocktail at the bar, and progress into the evening hours, while embracing energetic lounge vibes on our second-floor rooftop, terrace and event space.”

Union New American’s everyday dining menu is centered around a fire hearth that uses American white oak and coal. The front of the house team is led by General Manager Kal Harris, who joined the team with more than 20 years of hospitality experience.

Modern American menu options highlight the classics, ranging from a selection of chilled and warm dishes, salads, sushi, main plates, steaks and sides. Leading the kitchen is Next Level Brands’ veteran chef, Adam Polisei, who was part of Cameron Mitchell Restaurants and oversaw concepts like Ocean Prime and Michell’s Fish Market before joining Next Level Brands.

“Visible to our guests from the dining room, our open-fire oven is an integral part of the restaurant,” said Polisei. “Much of our cuisine is centered around the hearth, whether it’s the focal point of the dish or a finishing component, it's part of every aspect of the dining experience. The hearth packs great flavor by gently manipulating taste while not overpowering it.”

Inspiration pulls from all corners of the globe with flavorful starters like yellowfin tuna tartare with mustard cream, sweet pickle gastrique, and crispy potato; a hearth-roasted platter of king crab legs, oysters, shrimp, lobster and white wine garlic butter; roasted carrots with koji tahini, salsa verde and garden herbs; and bread starters like Parker House milk bread with whipped butter, honey and fresh thyme and country biscuits with Benton’s 1-year ham, blueberry pepper jam and pimento cheese.

Lighter choices include a selection of four salads — house, Caesar, Greek and Crunch Love with fry bread croutons, red pepper hummus, feta and lemon vinaigrette — and five sushi options that include a namesake Union Roll with Alaskan king crab, A5 Miyazaki, avocado, crispy onion and truffle aioli; salmon and hamachi crudo with pineapple vinaigrette, cucumber, jalapeño, cilantro, avocado cream and chili oil; and Korean barbecue salmon with avocado, charred allium, gochujang, sesame oil, honey and togarashi.

An assortment of steak options include an 8 -ounce filet, a 14-ounce New York strip and a 22-ounce bone-in rib eye served with a Hasselback potato and the option to enhance with “surf” (shrimp, lobster, crab), truffles and four sauces, which includes Union Steak Sauce.

A selection of main items round out the offerings that the globally inspired gastronomic adventure the restaurant will be known for: Green Circle Farms Roast Chicken with confit vegetables and onion jus; a vegan-friendly smoked eggplant enchilada with cauliflower, lentils, cashew cream, and pepper coulis; and General Po’s Iberico pork with shrimp fried rice, Mandarin pancake and yum yum sauce - and

Executive Pastry Chef Summer Bailey oversees all of Next Level Brand’s pastry programs. She joined the restaurant group with an impressive resume that included a bevy of heavy-hitting New York positions at Christina Tosi’s Momofuku’s MilkBar and Andrew Carmellini’s The Dutch.

Bailey wowed the Tampa region with her contribution to Water Street’s new culinary gem, Boulon Brassiere, and will continue this trend with a selection of five nostalgic desserts that include an apple hand pie, Union chocolate chip cookies served warm with iced vanilla milk, and a Blizzard.

Along with an impressively wide selection of beers and wines, Union New American has conceptualized a tantalizing cocktail program. A selection of eight signature cocktails includes modern interpretations of classic concoctions and unique signature drinks including the Pepino Papi with Casa Noble Blanco Tequila, Mr. Q. Cumber Soda, and Thai herb elixir; Dominican Domino made from Diplomatico Rum, Chinola passion fruit, prosecco, mint, and honey; and a Lychee Lover with Drumshanbo Gin, St. Germain, tart grapefruit, and lychee-lavender cordial, to name a few.

Top-notch culinary talent pairs best with talented design, and Gigante appointed award-winning architects Atelier Zebulon Perron to bring the expansive, two-floor, nearly 10,000-square-foot space to life.

Union New American is located at 1111 N Westshore Blvd. Annex B, Tampa.

The restaurant will offer full lunch and dinner menus with an abbreviated menu available between the two meal periods, as well as a limited late-night menu when the second floor opens.

Lunch will be available Tuesday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and dinner from Tuesday through Thursday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. The restaurant will be closed Mondays.

Valet service will be available during dinner for $5 per vehicle.

For reservations, call 813-768-9989 or make a reservation here.