The Frugalista Life

Last week, I had the pleasure of meeting up with David Pullman, partner in the Ciccio Restaurant Group(CRG). The restaurant empire owns most of the hotspots in the Soho District in Tampa and are consistently opening fresh, new concepts. Earlier this year, they opened Sweet Soul and next month they’re scheduled to open its newest concept Taco Dirty. A play off the phrase “Talk Dirty to Me”, the restaurant is taking a healthier approach to Mexican foods. Customers get to walk down the line to build and customize their own tacos and bowls.

Here’s an excerpt from my latest article for Creative Loafing:

“Ciccio Restaurant Group is back at it again in Tampa’s SoHo district. A couple of months after opening the doors of healthful hotspot Sweet Soul, another new restaurant in the neighborhood called Taco Dirty is joining the family.

Co-owner David Pullman, who helped launch Sweet Soul, is leading the charge at Taco Dirty — planned for the former 2,000-square-foot Soho Tavern space at 2221 W. Platt St. CRG brought Pullman on board in 2011, and he’s been an influential force in a few of its concepts since then. Upon his arrival, the first project he tackled was revamping The Lodge.

“I came down here about seven years ago. Originally, I took over The Lodge and ended up rebranding that concept, and it became a huge success for us,” Pullman said.

After that, he moved on to the build-your-own-bowl Fresh Kitchen, helping locations open in SoHo, Sarasota, St. Petersburg and Boca Raton, where he lived for a year to ensure the store was up and running smoothy.”

You can read more about Taco Dirty here: Ciccio Restaurant Group is back at it again with Taco Dirty, coming to Soho

Header photo courtesy of David Pullman/Ciccio Restaurant Group