New Italian Bistro Set to Make Splash in Seminole Heights

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The ongoing Seminole Heights restaurant revolution will continue developing on North Florida Avenue in a few weeks with the opening of a new Italian bistro.

Domani's Bistro and Lounge is the creation of SOHO Tavern owner and 35-year restaurateur Bernardo Agostino. The long-time owner of Bernardo's Foccacia Mia in South Tampa has moved north into Seminole Heights in the hopes that he can follow in the steps of other establishments that are achieving success in the area.

"I see this is where it's happening now," Agostino said. "You see a lot of restaurants opening up around here, and they're all doing business. It's a great area, and I just happened to stumble on this building, but I think it's going to be a good location for us."

Agostino's previous efforts were always a partnership with his brother, Salvatore. In October of 2010, "Sal" was murdered inside of his own business, South Tampa's Antiques Etc., during a robbery. Before his death, Salvatore Agostino had one last restaurant venture in mind: Domani's.

Having owned the once famous Bernardo's Foccacia Mia, Agostino's repertoire of Italian cuisine is steeped in tradition, but according to the man himself, Domani's is going to be different.

"I'm going to bring back the Foccacia sandwich, which we were very famous for at Bernardo's Foccacia Mia," Agostino said. "We're not going to be a sandwich place though, and we're not going to be too traditional. We'll have pasta, steak, fish and things like that to be a more modern Italian American restaurant."

Domani's has been under construction for the last seven months at 6419 N. Florida Ave. as Agostino converts what were previously offices into a full fledged restaurant with a dining room and bar. After completely redoing the electrical, gas and plumbing work, the building is now being put together with furniture and the last coats of paint. Agostino estimates it will be a month before they are open to the public.

"I'm very excited about getting this place open," Agostino said. "After all the battles we've had to go through and how much we've had to do to this place, I'm looking forward to seeing it come to life. I think people are going to enjoy it; we have a nice bar and good manager coming in, so I think it'll be successful."

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