A corner storefront inside one of downtown New Port Richey's oldest buildings is about to serve street tacos, wings and boiled peanuts well past midnight. Main Street Food, a new late-night street food concept, is targeting a late October opening at 5743 Main Street, taking over the unit that once housed Gone Juicing Cafe.
The concept comes from owner Jason Bryant, a St. Petersburg native who has spent years working in restaurants and bars across Tampa Bay, according to Business Debut. Bryant previously owned The Catalyst on the Deuces and the Manhattan Casino in St. Petersburg, and he described Main Street Food as “straight street food,” with a menu built around tacos in a variety of flavors, wings, hot dogs, sausages, popcorn and boiled peanuts. The plan calls for a grab-and-go format with some dine-in seating, plus music and a casual setting.
Bryant said the idea took shape after he moved to New Port Richey with his family and started exploring downtown, noticing a shortage of late-evening food options. He said the focus at Main Street Food will be quick, simple food with flavor, and called the project part of what he described as New Port Richey's new era, per the same account.
A Fixture Inside the City's Oldest Commercial Building
The building at 5743 Main Street carries its own history well before Main Street Food arrives. Known as the Chasco Inn and originally built as the Havens-Swafford Building in 1926, the structure features distinctive pierced-arched roof detailing and stands as the oldest commercial brick anchor in New Port Richey, according to the City of New Port Richey. The corner unit most recently belonged to Gone Juicing Cafe, a family-owned plant-based juice and health food bar that celebrated its grand opening there in April 2022 before expanding into Gone Juicing x Pizza and eventually closing, per Downtown New Port Richey.
Main Street Food's opening still depends on permits and remaining build-out work, and the eatery is finalizing those details ahead of launch, according to WhatNow, which reported the business began actively recruiting staff in early September under the tagline “Late Night, Street Tacos & More.” The eatery plans to open in phases, starting with evening hours Thursday through Saturday before working toward a goal schedule of 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Thursday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday.
From The Deuces to Main Street
Bryant's move to Pasco County follows a run of hospitality projects in St. Petersburg's historic urban corridors. He was one of seven co-founding members of the Urban Collective, a business group formed in 2021 to manage the historic Manhattan Casino and 22 South Food Hall, according to The Weekly Challenger. St. Petersburg city officials allowed that lease to expire in late 2022, and the city later completed a $4.8 million renovation to reopen the Manhattan Casino as a city-managed event space in September 2026, as reported by St. Pete Rising.
In May 2023, Bryant co-founded The Catalyst on the Deuces at 903 22nd Street South, turning the former Chief's Creole Cafe into a speakeasy lounge, remote workspace and live music venue with a large outdoor patio that hosted local food vendors, according to St. Pete Catalyst. That venue operated for nearly three years before closing in February 2026, after which a new bar and club called Jay Que's on the Deuces took over the lease alongside co-tenant Sid's Caribbean Grill the following month, the same outlet's report on the transition notes.
Downtown's Late-Night Crowd Keeps Growing
Main Street Food is arriving as downtown New Port Richey's evening foot traffic continues to swell. Rising weekend visitor volume prompted the city council in August to advance an ordinance tripling standard downtown parking fines from $10 to $30 to manage street congestion and public safety, as Hoodline previously reported. That same nightlife surge is central to Bryant's pitch for the new concept, since he pointed to limited late-evening food options downtown as the gap he wants Main Street Food to fill.
The broader redevelopment push behind that growth has been underway for decades. The New Port Richey Community Redevelopment Agency, established in 1988, reported this year that total taxable property values within its redevelopment area have surpassed $1 billion as part of ongoing downtown commercial infill efforts, according to the City of New Port Richey. Main Street Food will join a commercial strip that already includes Cotee River Brewing, Main Munchery and Emerald Coast Brewing Co along Main Street, per Visit New Port Richey.
Whether Bryant's phased opening schedule and streamlined grab-and-go model can hold up long-term inside that increasingly dense restaurant market remains an open question, according to Business Debut's reporting on the venture. For now, the countdown is on toward a late October debut inside one of downtown's oldest walls.
