Bizou Brasserie at Le Meridien Tampa Reimagines Dining With Menu and Dining Room Changes

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. November 06, 2014

November 6, 2014 - In just five months, one of downtown Tampa's newest hotels has achieved the top ranking of all North American Starwood Le Meridien Hotels for guest satisfaction, and will be honored this month by the Tampa Downtown Partnership with a Landmark Development Project Urban Excellence Award. As the hotel's premiere dining experience, Bizou Brasserie is poised to achieve similar levels of excellence, and has implemented some recent enhancements in response to valuable guest feedback.

“SoHo Hospitality did a masterful job in helping us develop a wonderful concept that is on point with the Le Meridien brand and filled a niche in the Tampa dining market,” explained Gary Prosterman , president and CEO of Development Services Group, Inc. “With their varied interests and desire to open new restaurant concepts and our singular focus on operations of Le Meridien Tampa and Bizou Brassiere, it made sense to both parties for us to take over operations of Bizou Brasserie. By transitioning all management services to Maximum Hospitality under a single management umbrella, we intend to continue to raise the bar on food quality and service so that we can consistently deliver an exceptional dining and bar experience that matches what is already an award-winning hotel experience in downtown Tampa.”

Leading the reenergized Bizou team is Chef Peter LaMontagna , a 20-year industry veteran who most recently led store operations for Whole Foods Market in Tallahassee and served as regional chef for Whole Foods in the Midwest region and Canada, developing and implementing concepts for over 38 stores. Peter also directed food and beverage operations at the Chicago Marriott Burr Ridge. LaMontagna has infused his passion for fresh ingredients and artful presentation into the French-inspired menu and added a delicious selection of fall and winter specialty dishes that include braised lamb shank, classic beef bourguignon and ratatouille crusted market fish, among other items.

This fall, Bizou's high-energy bar area comes alive with “Work Release” happy hour on Thursdays and Fridays from 5-7:30, featuring an all-new small plates menu and fall specialty drinks. LaMontagna has also made improvements to the breakfast, lunch and dinner menus, adding more variety and healthy dining options to the selections, and introduced Sunday Brunch outdoors on The Patio from 11-3.

Perhaps the most noticeable physical improvement of the restaurant is the addition of new flooring surfaces and acoustic panels in the dining room and bar, providing an improved environment for conversation, while maintaining the character, splendor and energy of the former grand courtroom in the 1905 federal courthouse.

“We look forward to continuing to foster relationships with our downtown neighbors and partners and focus on delivering a 4-star dining experience to our guests,” added Brent Scarbro, general manager of Le Meridien Tampa, who will oversee leadership at Bizou Brasserie. “We've assembled a great team of culinary and service professionals who work well together and are creating some amazing gastronomic experiences that are sure to delight our guests.”

Bizou Brasserie is located within Le Meridien Tampa, 601 North Florida Avenue. Restaurant hours are 6:00 am to 10:00 pm, Monday through Sunday, with the bar open until midnight. For more information, visit BizouTampa.com or call (813) 227-9555.

About Bizou Brasserie

Located within the historic former federal courthouse at Le Meridien in downtown Tampa, Bizou Brasserie is a French-inspired bistro and bar that features a variety of fresh seafood, dry aged, hand cut beef and homemade pastries. Upon ascending the grand staircase and entering through the former courthouse doors, guests find themselves immersed in a fine dining experience that promises culinary creativity and unsurpassed service. For more information, visit www.BizouTampa or @BizouTampa on Facebook.

About Le Meridien Tampa

Just 12 minutes from Tampa International Airport (TPA), Le Meridien Tampa is in the heart of downtown Tampa and within a few minutes walk to the Tampa Convention Center, Straz Center for the Performing Arts, the Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa Children's Museum, and the historic Tampa Theatre. Recognized by the National Register of Historic Places, the century-old historic federal courthouse has been transformed to reveal a boutique hotel that boasts 130-inspiring guest rooms and suites, meeting and event space, Bizou Brasserie dining experience, and Longitude Bar. For more information, visit www.LeMeridienTampa.com or join the conversation on Facebook or Twitter @LeMeridienTampa.

About Maximum Hospitality

MH Partners, LLC (Maximum Hospitality) of Memphis, Tennessee is an award-winning hotel management company, dedicated to providing hotel owners with superior management and a higher return on investment. Focusing on luxury and boutique brand hotels from Starwood, Hilton and Marriott, Maximum Hospitality provides a portfolio of services that includes development services, asset management and operations management. The company's principals are experienced in management of over 14 different hotel brands, across a wide range of geographic and industry segments. For more information, visit MaximumHospitality.com.