The group behind Tampa's Michelin-starred Rocca is opening its first Clearwater restaurant in the restored 1914 Telephone Building at 534 Cleveland St., bringing a casual hot dog and burger joint to a downtown block where a new bakery opened last week and a $50 million entertainment complex broke ground last month.

Tastes Pretty Good Hospitality will bring a concept called Rippers to the ground floor of the historic building, the Cleveland Street Alliance announced Monday, July 13. The menu centers on deep-fried "ripper" hot dogs, burgers, chicken wings, sandwiches, fries and milkshakes.

"We started in Tampa as a love letter to the city we grew up in," CEO Nick Reader said in the announcement. "When this opportunity arose to come to Clearwater, we saw something very familiar. We understood the vision, we understood where it could go and we knew we wanted to be part of it."

Team behind the concept

Reader, a former chief financial officer of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and co-founder of PDQ, leads a hospitality group that also operates Streetlight Taco, a Michelin Bib Gourmand recipient, and Bar Terroir in South Tampa. Culinary director Bryce Bonsack, executive chef and owner of Rocca, trained at the Culinary Institute of America and cooked at Blanca and Corton in New York City before moving to Tampa.

Bonsack said the building's character drew the team in. He described Rippers as classic American food that is "approachable, delicious and affordable," pairing the concept with the Telephone Building's history.

A building rebuilt brick by brick

The Telephone Building is the first historic landmark completed under the Cleveland Street Alliance's restoration initiative. The project reconstructed the original brick facade with period-matched materials and rebuilt the entire structure behind it, according to the alliance's website.

Rippers joins a quickening pace of activity on Cleveland Street. Nourish & Nosh Bakery Bistro, a European cafe, opened on the corridor Monday, July 6. The entire 600 block is under construction, and site clearing began June 29 for a $50 million EVO Entertainment complex at Cleveland Street and Myrtle Avenue.

No opening date announced yet

Tastes Pretty Good has not announced an opening date or construction timeline for Rippers. The restaurant will offer dine-in and takeout service in what the group describes as a casual neighborhood setting for families, downtown workers and visitors.

Residents can find updates on the project at clevelandstreetalliance.com. The alliance is also restoring the Peoples Bank Building, F.W. Woolworth Co. building and Brown Brothers Building along the same corridor.