Graze, the scratch-made diner concept that got its start inside Armature Works, is expanding again — this time into Tampa's Ballast Point neighborhood. The restaurant will open its third location at 5232 S. MacDill Ave, a spot that formerly housed Arirang Korean Restaurant, with plans to serve brunch, lunch and dinner seven days a week.
The news was first reported by the Tampa Bay Business Journal, and as Creative Loafing Tampa notes, Graze has not announced an exact opening date, though the brand hopes to open before the end of 2026, per the Business Journal's reporting. The new Ballast Point outpost will debut just a few blocks south of Mad Dogs & Englishmen, the longtime South Tampa British gastropub that relocated to a 6,000-square-foot building at 4914 S. MacDill Ave in early 2025, according to the MICHELIN Guide.
From Food Hall Counter to Neighborhood Diner
Graze's roots trace back to 2018, when Graze 1910 opened inside the Armature Works food hall in Tampa Heights. That building is a 73,000-square-foot former Tampa Electric Company streetcar maintenance facility, constructed in 1910 and transformed through a $20 million adaptive reuse redevelopment, according to The Jaxson. Inside, the Heights Public Market offers 22,000 square feet of communal dining space and hosts more than a dozen independent vendor stalls, per Visit Florida.
Graze proved its concept there before making its first move into standalone dining in 2020, opening a second location at 2217/2219 S. Dale Mabry Highway, directly across from Plant High School. The brand describes itself as an all-day diner serving scratch-made American fare — house-made waffles, seasonal avocado toasts, chicken and waffles, mac and cheese, rice bowls, and a South Tampa-exclusive smash burger — a lineup detailed by FOX 13 News.
A Building With Its Own History
The Ballast Point site itself has a long run as a neighborhood dining spot. The 2,095-square-foot commercial building sits on a 0.35-acre parcel and was constructed in 1959, according to Realtor.com. Before Graze, it was home to Arirang Korean Restaurant, which opened in February 2014 after replacing a former German bistro in that same space, per Creative Loafing Tampa's reporting on the area's dining history.
Graze's arrival adds to a wave of restaurant activity reshaping South MacDill Avenue in 2026. Old Heights Bistro recently relocated from Seminole Heights to 3225 S. MacDill Ave to gain more space and parking, as Hoodline previously reported. Established concepts moving to the corridor, paired with newer arrivals establishing footholds nearby, point to South MacDill becoming an increasingly competitive stretch for South Tampa diners.
