'We're back!' Kojaks House of Ribs reopens in Seffner

SEFFNER, Fla. - Kojaks House of Ribs was a South Tampa staple for 43 years but owner Chris Forney, who sold the barbeque restaurant last year, is hoping to have the same success in Seffner.  

"We're back," exclaimed Phillip Angelo the general manager. "A little different experience, but it's the same family."

The new location is at 1809 S Parsons Avenue, just south of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, which is better for the family because it keeps them closer to home.

"We all live out here in the Seffner area," admitted Angelo, "We found this place... we had our eye on it. It's convenient for us."

Fans of the Gandy Boulevard location will be glad to know that even though the location changed, nothing else did.

"We brought everything from inside that restaurant and put it in this restaurant," said Angelo. "Same equipment, same people, same recipes."

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It's those recipes that kept people coming back over and over again which was reinforced on their re-opening day.

"A lot of familiar faces came through that front door," stated Angelo. "We're happy about it."

The labor of love to find the new location took some time as they searched for something closer to home and then had to rebuild what had been in place in South Tampa for so long. 

Angelo admitted, "It's a long time coming, five months in between, you know, getting this place set up rebuilding the pit, you know, we had something that was sitting there 40 something years."

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But once the doors opened, it all came back, and their hope is that their faithful fans do too bringing some now ones with them.

"We always had a great product, you know, we never cut back on the product. We make sure it's premium meats," said Angelo. "Our food is super-fast, just like it was."
Kojak’s is open Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m., and 12-8 p.m. on Sundays.

LINK: For more information and to see a menu, visit http://www.kojaksbbq.net/.