Ford's Garage, a burger-and-craft-beer restaurant is going up on the US-301 corridor, and it plans to hire more than 125 people before opening its doors in December.
Ford's Garage, a casual dining chain themed around 1920s-era automobiles, is under construction at the northwest corner of U.S. Highway 301 and Green Adler Road in Riverview, according to the Observer News. The roughly 7,000-square-foot restaurant sits along the stretch of 301 that connects Riverview, Ruskin, Sun City Center and Wimauma.
"This is one of the fastest-growing communities in the Tampa Bay region and a tremendous opportunity to continue growing the market," Dave Ragosa, chief development officer for Ford's Garage corporate headquarters, told the Observer News in a July 9 interview. "It just keeps exploding."
The Riverview location will be the chain's 24th in Florida and its fifth in the Tampa Bay area, joining spots in St. Petersburg, Wesley Chapel, Westchase and Brandon.
A hiring push of 125-plus jobs
Ragosa said the restaurant expects to hire 125 to 150 employees six to eight weeks before the December opening. That number will level off to about 100 to 110 workers once the initial rush settles. Management training begins roughly six months before opening day, putting that process already underway.
The positions span management, kitchen staff, hospitality workers and servers.
The Tampa franchisee behind the expansion
The franchisee is 23 Restaurant Services, a Tampa-based hospitality company led by president Marc Brown. The company is the largest Ford's Garage franchisee in the country and also operates the Brandon location at 11105 Causeway Blvd.
With the Riverview opening, Ford's Garage will have 35 restaurants across eight states. The chain was founded in 2012 in Fort Myers, less than a mile from Henry Ford's winter home, and has been franchising since 2015.
A vintage-auto theme with 100-plus beers
The restaurant's decor features vintage Ford vehicles displayed outside and suspended car parts, gas pump beer taps, automotive tool chests and classic signs inside. Ford's Garage is an official licensee of Ford Motor Company, permitted to use the blue oval logo.
The menu centers on Black Angus burgers with specialty toppings including brisket, bacon jam, fried eggs and peanut butter. It also includes sandwiches, steaks, salmon, meatloaf and shareable appetizers. The bar carries more than 100 types of beer, including 40 on draft with an emphasis on local microbreweries.
