Bahama Breeze Used to be Sexy

If I had to pick one restaurant restroom to sleep in it would be at Bahama Breeze.

When Bahama Breeze first opened in Tampa years ago it was the sexiest place in town. Located on the water it was booming every single night. They had complimentary valet (unheard of back then), a huge patio, hip music and a new twist on "island food." It was the place "to be". They had a 2 hour wait every weekend and people waited without even thinking twice about it.

I remember the first time I went I was glowing with excitement. The experience was phenomenal but I really didn't full comprehend how sweet this restaurant was until I went to the restroom.

What do you expect in a normal restaurant restroom? Florescent lighting. Everything is wet. The stall doors are hanging off the hinges. Someone has written a series of foul sentences that all end with a fake phone number on the wall. It usually smells.

Bahama Breeze's restroom was fit for a king. Extremely clean with hip lighting and a welcoming smell. The stalls were like individual caves all with their own full sized entrance door and tile walls that went from floor to ceiling. The urinals were tucked away in a separate room off to the side and when I went to wash my hands my breath was taking away by the moisturizing soap, thick towels, hand lotion and mouth wash.

I believe the heart of the restaurant is in the restroom. It's a sneak peak into the inner workings and management of the restaurant and tells you their priorities. If the restroom isn't clean how do you think the kitchen looks?

I visited Bahama Breeze a couple weeks ago. It had been years since I was last there.

It was during lunch but for the most part the place was completely empty. We were the only ones sitting in the lounge and there were a handful of tables full throughout the dining room.

Service was great. The food was flavorful (they have a great Cuban, but it costs $10 with a side of fries) and the restaurant was fairly clean. As you might imagine, I had to go to the restroom and was pleasantly surprised when I walked in and it was just as I remembered it. Clean and sparkling with all of the extras.

Service was great and the same as always. Food was good but a little pricey. Restaurant and restrooms were both clean and the atmosphere was warm and inviting.

Hmm.....so why was it empty?

The sex appeal was long gone. The restaurant never changed.

They didn't update or try to stay current with the times. It's likely they thought they could keep riding on what they had and that more of the same was a good solution.

The results however are paralyzing. An empty and unchanged restaurant, no matter how remarkable all the elements are is never a good thing.

So if you want to visit an amazing restroom, Bahama Breeze is the place to go (yes I really would sleep there). But, if you want to visit the sexiest restaurant in town you better look elsewhere.