TAMPA, Fla. — Just off Boy Scout Boulevard in Tampa, you'll notice the new Flemings Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar.
"We're activating all of your senses as soon as you walk in. You have this grand sense of arrival. We're also doing something unique. Here we are introducing one of our signature scents, and we call this scent Newport at Night, so that we start to trigger, not only visually, but also your other sensory senses, just to make sure you pick up the aroma and you start to associate a memory with Flemings," said Sheilina Henry, President of Flemings.
Henry is one of a handful of women executives in this male-dominated industry. She's leading Flemings' new sleek redesign nationwide, including its Tampa flagship location.
"Wanting to be an inclusive steakhouse and making sure that women felt safe and comfortable when they're in our environment," she said. "We made sure that the floors would be slip-resistant and enough that you can come in your heels and feel safe to enjoy and roam about all of the unique spaces we've created."
The 13,000 square feet space has floor-to-ceiling glass windows, multiple dining rooms and private rooms for parties.
In the heart of it all is a huge wine bar.
"Rooted in our DNA has always been in our name, Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar. So we're now going to get a chance to bring that to life. For every day of the week, we're going to have a specialty menu that we'll have from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. We'll have an array of wine flights to help people discover wine," said Jorge Diaz, Operating Partner.
"We're trying to go a little bit on the plating side, colorful, trying different flavors, but we're still keeping our main roots, you know? So that's what's really important is our steaks, but then trying something with the lunch menu, the wine bar menu and the wine bar and and overall bar menu. It was just having fun with those flavors, but we're still sticking to, you know, what we do best, and that's the steaks," said Chef Brandon Grady.
The new Flemings Steakhouse and Wine Bar opens on Monday, Sept. 9.
